It’s the day after. The winners are shaking off a champagne headache. The losers are calling up volunteers, asking for help retrieving lawn signs. Pundits are hoarse from telling the media “I told you so.”
But, at the time of writing of this editorial, we don’t know who won. The polls closed about four hours after we went to press.
Here’s what we do know.
Provincewide, this election was probably dirtier than most other ones in recent memory. For the duration of the campaign, our inboxes overflowed with dozens upon dozens of press releases from the parties, attacking each other over the most mundane, petulant nonsense.
But at a local level, all 15 candidates in all four North Shore ridings were civil and respectful during interviews and all-candidates meetings – a good reminder that all politics is local.
When the local NDP attacked the Liberals, they attacked their record. When the local Liberals attacked the NDP, they attacked their platform. It’s what political discourse should look like.
We also acknowledge the four winners and 11 also-rans for the guts it took to stand for election. Specifically, we offer kudos to those who showed up for the all-candidates debates, even the ones organized by groups with a pre-set agenda.
And while much of the discussion in this campaign was about the presence of donors’ money in the campaign, money doesn’t buy volunteers who get out and knock on doors or make calls. They too are to be commended.
Lastly, we would like to thank the voters who have, regardless of who they supported, provided us with four more years of editorial fodder.
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