End of the Campaign?

 Today, with the help of my friend Jim, we picked up the signs that remained from my campaign. I put out 28, and today picked up 9. There are a couple that we didn't get to (short of time - I had an appointment early afternoon in the city), but the rest had disappeared. In all, I was surprised to find the ones I did, given the amount of snow we had had since the start of the campaign, and the fact that in some cases I had placed them too close to rows of mail boxes, where snow clearing to give access would have buried them. Still, it did mean that, from Hodgewater Line to Upper Gullies, my name was still present to the end.

As we drove around, I reflected on what I thought I had accomplished, and on what I would have dearly loved to do had the weather been more civil. I particularly enjoyed the interaction with people on their doorstep, especially the ones who were eager to engage me in a discussion of politics, as they tried to figure out what a 78-year-old retired professor of French was doing, traipsing around in winter in their community ("where no candidate ever seems to come").

I also enjoyed the two zoom meetings I took part in. The first was a technical disaster as my computer froze and I was obliged to use the telephone to give my replies to the pre-arranged questions. That meant that those people who were following the program broadcast on Facebook could not see my face, nor even my name, so that opportunity for more general recognition was lost. The Shoreline did carry a report of the event, but it could hardly capture the 90 minutes of the exchanges in half a page, though I would not have described the event as "feisty".

The second one was a "solo event" with the Town Council of Holyrood. Their focus, naturally, was on what I intended to do for the town if I was elected, and because my wife and I were storm-bound in a motel in Holyrood (a missed day of door-knocking), I had some time to do a little research to support my answers. The councillors did not question me or interrupt, so I don't really know how my answers were received, but I felt that they should have felt that I was prepared to work hard, if elected, to help them achieve the goals they had set for the development of Holyrood.

I don't have any illusions about the results that will finally be announced tomorrow, Saturday 27 March. What I hope I have achieved is to have given electors in Harbour Main District the opportunity to vote for a party that is on the side of ordinary people, rather than catering to the top end. If I get 500 votes, I will be satisfied, given the disadvantages I faced. If I get 1000 I will be overjoyed.

And now the question becomes: what will I do if there is another minority government that could easily fall within six months? Another minority Liberal government will be obliged, I think, to bring forward for debate the budget that was left hanging when the House was prorogued. If it is a PC minority, then the House might not be called into session for some time, especially since the PERT report will then be public knowledge, and the PCs will need time to absorb it and prepare a budget of their own. And there is also the report from the committee looking closely at the health care system. I don't know if they have a deadline for reporting, but I would expect it to be delivered before the end of the summer.

I don't know how to answer that question, yet. Maybe after tomorrow?

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