You can read about it in the newspapers, hear it on the radio, see it on television and the Internet, but there’s really no substitute for getting information right from the horse’s mouth.
With the coming provincial election, the campaign rhetoric is heating up and candidates have entered full-scale campaign mode.
They’re knocking on doors, they’re distributing their flyers, they’re taking out ads … all across the province, the story is the same.
The real test of the candidates, however, should come from what they have to say when questions are put directly to them by the electors and each other.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of having candidates’ forums, not just at the top levels where party leaders can debate the relative merits of their party platforms, but also at the local level where candidates in an individual constituency can address the issues of concern in their own communities.
While no forum has yet been scheduled in Westlock, residents of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock are fortunate to have the opportunity to hear from the candidates at several forums in the coming weeks.
There is a forum scheduled for April 10 at the Cultural Centre in Legal, then another April 11 at the Seniors’ Drop-in Centre in Barrhead.
The next week, there is an April 16 forum scheduled at the cultural centre in Morinville and another one April 19 at the Keyano Centre in Swan Hills.
Chances are only the most die-hard political enthusiasts will take the opportunity to attend every one of these forums, but all voters should make the effort to attend at least one.
This is especially true this time around. In the past, Ken Kowalski’s re-election has been taken for granted and that resulted in a certain degree of apathy on the part of voters in this area.
With the Wildrose Party showing poll numbers closer to the ruling Progressive Conservatives than any opposition party has shown in decades, this promises to be one of the most interesting elections this province has had.
Before we decide whether to stick with the devil we know or opt for the one we don’t, we need to find out exactly where these candidates stand on the issues that are important to us.
