William Cory Labovitch
Dear editor:
State Rep. David Dill, who represented the Minnesota side of the U.S./Canadian border from Lake Superior to the part of Koochiching County just past International Falls at the State Capitol, passed away in August.
The replacement led to a split in the Democratic party between those who wanted to support environmental issues under outfitter Bill Hansen and those who wanted to stand behind union labour.
In the end, labour won as the unions united behind International Falls resident Rob Ecklund in the Democratic primary. But both sides now should be united under Ecklund in the upcoming general by-election against Republican Roger Skraba and Independent Kelsey Johnson.
But in Canada, this feud would have continued into the general election as (by estimation) Ecklund would have been the NDP candidate and Hansen the Liberal candidate. Who knows who would have won the nomination but the Conservative candidate would be left sitting pretty.
I say this for I see what is happening in the Kenora riding just north of Fort Frances, where Liberal candidate Bob Nault and NDP hopeful Howard Hampton are squaring off against incumbent Conservative MP Greg Rickford in the Oct. 19 federal election.
And frankly, it is a true mess as Rickford likely is the winner because both the Grits and NDP are contesting the riding.
Now, it is equally likely (unless a major upset happens) that the NDP’s John Rafferty will win re-election in Thunder Bay-Rainy River—thanks, in part, to strategic voting.
All I ask is to look closely at the differences between America’s political system and Canada’s political system in these two races simply to think about the contradiction on how the different political process in both countries can lead to hypothetically different results.
(Signed),
William Cory Labovitch
South Saint Paul, Mn.
