Will Labovitch
Dear editor:
Last spring, I wrote a letter that was published in this newspaper about the federal election.
What I have discovered since then is my increased interest in Canadian politics.
As an American in Minnesota, I am a Democrat because of the two-party politics and any vote other than for the two major parties is a spoiler.
In Canada, I would be an Independent, splitting between Liberals and the New Democrats over who would have the better chance of winning.
In Kenora-Rainy River, that would be Sarah Campbell for the upcoming provincial election. In the Toronto suburbs, I would be pushing for Liberals since the NDP’s chances would be mute.
But here it’s obvious. Longtime MPP Howard Hampton is retiring and an NDP member, the federal Liberal party is in flux, and the MP for the northern part of the riding is a Conservative, so it is a two-party race. As such, any vote for Liberal candidate Anthony Leek will be more likely to spoil the chances for Campbell, who does have the experience to be an MPP.
And again, I am an American so I’m not thinking about Andrea Horwath or Dalton McGuinty but rather on the vote-splitting issue that has plagued Minnesotan politics with the
Independence Party (a.k.a. Jesse Ventura’s party).
So my advice to all moderate leftists reading this? Vote Campbell.
(Signed),
Will Labovitch
South Saint Paul, Mn.
