On Tuesday, B.C. voters go to the polls to elect a new government.
Here in West Vancouver-Garibaldi, that vote doesn't mean so much. With more than half the voting population in the affluent confines of West Van, the election is Liberal Joan McIntyre's to lose - and as far as this political junkie can tell, she hasn't.
Green candidate Dennis Perry, a consummate "Green Tory", is an attractive candidate for progressive and conservative voters alike and will likely win the Whistler polls and maybe even Squamish, which has a big axe to grind with the Liberals.
But despite his efforts to capitalize on West Van opposition to the Eagleridge Bluffs route for Hwy. 99, it doesn't look like it's enough of an issue to make him electable. I could be wrong, of course (sprinkling salt on the humble pie I may be eating next Wednesday) - but I doubt it.
That makes the second vote on May 17 all the more important. We have an incredible, once-in-a-generation chance to change the way we elect governments - and get rid of the antiquated and unfair system of first past the post (FPTP).
The proposed replacement, BC-STV (Single Transferable Vote), has taken a lot of flak for being confusing. True, it's not as simple as FPTP. But since when is expressing the will of the people simple?
FPTP is simple enough to explain, but the kind of governments we get from it certainly isn't. Is the will of the people expressed when a party wins a majority government with 40 per cent or less of the popular vote? That's not the exception, it's the rule under FPTP. In the rare instance where a party does actually get 50 per cent of the vote, it gets a ridiculous number of seats - like the Liberals in 2001 - making a mockery of opposition. It's not even that uncommon for a party to win a majority government when it wins fewer votes overall than its opponent - like the NDP did in 1996.
In summary, STV allows voters to rank their candidates and counts second, third, fourth and even further votes in electing members. It produces results in the legislature that actually correspond to the number of votes parties receive.
Some have come up with nightmare scenarios that show how STV could result in the wrong person being elected. I say: ask people in Florida in 2000 who voted for Pat Buchanan when they thought they were voting for Al Gore if they think FPTP is foolproof. Any electoral system has potential flaws. At least STV's don't result in majority governments by minority votes.
Another knock against STV is that it would reduce local representation by creating massive super-ridings with multiple members. I say it's a blessing - especially in a riding that almost always swings the same way. If you've got a problem in your riding and your "usual" MLA is either unwilling or unable to do something about it (not that that's ever happened here, of course), you can move on to the next one - and you might even have members from more than one party to choose from. I'd much rather have three or four MLAs who are worried enough about my vote to help me than one who knows who he (or she) can afford not to care about.
Overall, there's been not nearly enough talk about STV, which is a very bad sign if you think we need a change. The threshold for success is enormous - 60 per cent of all voters in B.C., plus a majority in at least 60 per cent of all constituencies. Not even the B.C. Liberals managed to get 60 per cent of the vote in 2001 in what was considered a landslide. That means there needs to be major buzz for the vote to succeed - and a major champion. The fact that all three major political parties have taken a neutral stance is extremely disappointing - and to this observer, it looks more like a passive way to kill STV than an attempt at being fair. After all, they're not being "neutral" and letting the voters decide on their own campaigns, are they?
Winston Churchill once said that democracy is the worst system of government in the world - except for all the others. STV is far from perfect, but it's miles better, and I for one don't want to wait another generation to try again.
Vote however you want on May 17 when you pick your MLA. But please vote "yes" to STV. It's a vote that will count for years to come.
