Kitchener Centre Record Debate
I attended the Kitchener Centre debate last night. I don't live in that riding anymore, but I was (and am) pretty much stressed to the breaking point, and I needed something to relax and entertain me. In addition, I infiltrated the literature table and snuck in some referendum literature.
The contenders were: J.D. McGuire (independent), Rick ( Read more... )
If my worst fears come true and small parties stop running local candidates, then debates will be between the two big party members, which the media will love. Small parties will depend on the Internet to try and motivate people, but I won't vote for them; I have decided that I only cast ballots for parties that bother running local candidates.
In the other case, I think that most serious parties will run local candidates, so we will have local debates of 10-15 people. That is pretty bad but it can be done.
What really interests me is how the dynamics of the leaders debate will change if we adopt MMP. Will we really let six leaders into the debate, or will the broadcasters continue letting only the "major" parties participate (where the NDP gets grandfathered in).
In any case, I don't get the sense that party leaders will travel the province in debating road shows. Local debates don't count for much -- it's television that makes the difference. Canvassing does make a big difference, but party leaders can't canvas the entire province, which is why I think that small parties that have local candidates will be more effective than those that don't.
It is also possible that list members who do not run in ridings will do some local campaigning, and that they will be the ones appearing in local debates (but then why would they not run locally? It's only $200 more and it gives your party lots of credibility).
I do think that the idea of keeping local representatives was a huge factor in why the OCA chose MMP over something else. I agree that having a local representative is pretty important. I disagree with the closely related argument that it doesn't matter who that person is, and that if you can never get a local representative of your choice elected you should be happy. That second argument verges on antidemocratic.
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