Dear editor,
As I read letters from voters who regret voting Green, I just shake my head and sigh.
In the weeks leading up to the election, I talked with a top NDP spokesperson.
I was very upset to see that both Greens and NDP were running in the Valley after I had heard of negotiations and some agreement to strategically run candidates from only one party based on which had the best likelihood of winning — meaning the Greens and NDP were finally acting sensibly and co-operating for the common good.
Wrong!
I was told that discussions had taken place and it seemed there was some agreement, but then the Green leader stepped in and declared the Greens would run candidates in every riding they could.
When I heard this, I was profoundly disillusioned with the Greens, a party whose environmental stance is dear to my heart. And then the predictable happened. The Greens dismiss that vote-splitting had anything to do with the results, and the NDP acts surprised about what happened.
My message to both parties is that if you are unable to grasp the concept of vote-splitting, if you are unable to move beyond partisan politics and build a strategic alliance for the sake of the province, the country and the planet (because Christy Clark’s policies are going to have environmental/climate consequences that go far beyond our provincial boundaries) — if you are unable to do these things, then I don’t feel you are ready to be in power.
So the challenge to you both is to use these next four years to do some sober soul-searching and to come together so we don’t see a repeat of this mess four years from now.
Surely, what we have in common is greater than what divides us. Please make it so.
S. Schiller