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Letter: Advice to Greens – work harder

Stop coat-tailing with the B.C. NDP or electoral reform.
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Bob D’Eith is leading group on electoral reform. (THE NEWS/files)

Editor, The News:

Re: Maple Ridge MLA leading group on electoral reform.

I voted yes in the first referendum, and upon further research voted no in the second.

I will vote no in the upcoming referendum. Whenever this issue is brought up, my response is, what electoral deficit?

In 2015, the electorate ended a decade of power of a party that didn’t exist in the early 1980s.

Liberal Party officials had to plead to take over a party that was sitting a distant third in the polls.

As an example, New Zealand changed its system to include proportional representation and after the most recent election only four parties made it and there was much hand-wringing and editorializing about why and how this happened.

In the most recent election in B.C., an unpopular premier was tossed out. Once again, what electoral deficit?

The reform I’d like to see is to remove fixed election dates to diminish the power of lobbyists. Election spending rules are in force even when a writ hasn’t been dropped.

It shouldn’t be easy to get power, and my advice to Mr. Weaver, instead of coat-tailing with the B.C. NDP or electoral reform, is to work harder.

Rob Bakewell

Maple Ridge