Sand in the Shorts: All Means All, and Other Election Silliness...

By James Phieffer


All:

-the whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively): all students. -from dictionary.com

In a scene right out of a Marx Brothers film this week, the following things occurred:

• An All-Candidates meeting was held, for some of the candidates,
• Truman Tuck was criticized for wanting in when he was left out
• Todd Smith was criticized for staying out when he was wanted in,

Some thoughts on this.  First, it appears that certain community organizations and columnists (Chris Mallette – this means you) are still weak on the whole “definition of all” thing.  For them, and anyone else, I have included it at the beginning of the column.  All means all, to use a truism.  When the Affordable Housing Action Network announced, in it's invitations and it's signs, an all-candidates meeting, it made a clear statement – that this was to be a meeting where all of the candidates were invited to participate.  As such, when they excluded three of the seven local candidates, they made themselves liars – purveyors of an untruth.

If they had wished to have a meeting of only certain candidates, which is their right, they should have publicized it – and stated clearly in the invitations to candidates – that this was to be a meeting of specific candidates only.  They certainly have that right, as another columnist pointed out yesterday. But when they used the label of “All-Candidates”, they made a specific statement that this would include all registered candidates.

As to the decisions by Treat Hull (Green) and Todd Smith (Progressive Conservative) not to attend, it seems that Mr. Hull is getting off rather easily.  The focus of commentary has been on Mr. Smith, with the references to Hull being left to “he sent his regrets”.  Smith commented on why he decided not to attend, but left out one point.  Smith decided not to go after hearing that Hull wasn't going to attend, and after considering the need to to other necessary parts of his campaign.  It should be noted that Hull was also a no-show at the Canadian Association of Retired Persons meeting Thursday night.

While I give kudos to the NDP candidate, Sherry Hayes, and the Scarlet-Clad Tooth Fairy (Liberal Leona Dombrowsky) for making both events, the attendance of any candidates at all such meetings during this election will be no small accomplishment.  There are at least 10 of them during the campaign – and talking to Smith I found out from this past Monday to next Thursday, there are eight (8!) of these events.  When the campaign is 30 days long, that is too many to expect the attendance of every candidate at every meeting.

The onus isn't on candidates to attend – the onus needs to be on the multiple special interest groups to get their acts together and merge these into a more reasonable four or five – with one each for North and Central Hastings, and the County, and two for Belleville.  If there is a reasonable number of all-candidates meetings, then, and only then, will it be reasonable to jump up on the nearest soap box and decry a candidate's non-participation.  But as it stands, such criticism of either Smith or Hull is unreasonable.

And if the title is “all-candidates meeting” – make it one.