Give me a sign

Yup, I cycled the Kiwanis Club Colour Cribbage Ride. Betcha figured I wouldn’t do it. I used the ride as an excuse to not run in the P.E.C. Marathon. Just kidding. LOML and I did the 60 km route on our hybrids—with thanks to the BBC for getting us on the road so many years ago. At the end of our ride, Kiwanis Club member Bill Miramontes dealt my cribbage hand but, with only 2 pair and four points, I was told none of the other cyclists had to worry about me taking home the big prize for the best hand. I still don’t know how to play cribbage, but it was a great day to cycle the back roads of the County and raise a bit of money for “the kids.” My only problem with cycling that distance was we didn’t stop for lunch and a glass of County wine at the halfway mark. No we didn’t. Mmm. Don’t get me wrong, there were checkpoints along the route where great volunteers offered us fresh fruit, cheese, granola and water, but I’m thinking maybe next year I’ll leave an hour earlier and make my Kiwanis Club Colour Cribbage Ride a Kiwanis Club Colour-licious Cribbage Ride. Instead of checkpoints along the way, there’d be patio lunch and chardonnay points along the way. (BTW, lunch was provided at the end of the ride.) Ya, that’s the ticket!

So, as LOML and I cycled our 60 kms on Saturday, one couldn’t help but see just how many election signs are now dotting the highways and byways around the County. It’s the one time I don’t entirely enjoy the beautiful colours of autumn—election time. But cycling gives me a chance to think about who does what, with which and to whom, during an election. As we bumped along the Fry Road, an idea came to me like a blown tire. Most of those election signs tell us what the candidates are willing to do for us. But, AHA, wouldn’t it make more sense if, as individuals, we (the voters) created signs for our lawns and farm gates and car windows telling those candidates what we want during their term of office? The hopefuls would have to drive around The County and not only read what’s what, but physically experience all of our roadways in need of attention. They’d know what the voters’ campaign is all about. There wouldn’t be any guessing. The agenda wouldn’t be hidden. Hopefuls wouldn’t just drape themselves over the most recent public concerns (the ones that crop up before the campaigning begins) and run with those, hoping we’d forget about windmills and clean water and tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and the size of council, and on and on. There’d be no likelihood of their confusing the voters’ issues with big business issues. Got my drift?

My front yard sign might say something like “Hey, Candidates! I don’t want any big box stores in my downtown area.” Or, maybe, “I don’t want to hear or smell the exhaust of massive transport trucks backing into the local grocery and department store lots because you didn’t make sure their site plans would accommodate that kind of activity adjacent to a residential area.” Or, how about “I want clean, non-stinky, drinking water and, while we’re on that topic, did you fix the minimum distance separation issue from last time you made promises?” Perhaps, “I want to be able to drive along our County roads and not worry about breaking an axle.” “Our County roads are good for the mechanics and autobody shops in the area, but they’re sucking the life out of my bank account.” I might even write, “Creative is a way of life. Creative creates jobs. We’ve got a creative economy. Live with it or move to Windsor.” And on. And on.

We could all have our own concerns posted on our front lawn—after we got permission from the Municipality, of course. Look, we’ve all got an an attitude about the way things happen or, in some cases, don’t happen in the County. Instead of hoping to catch the ear of our municipal staff or council and then, thinking they’ll change their behaviour toward our concerns as taxpayers, let’s get those signs ready and tell them why they can’t afford to ignore us. It makes so much more sense to me than having to read all of their schmaltzy, logo riddled campaign posters. And, if you don’t have the wherewithal to make your own signs, goodness knows more than a few hugely creative graphic designers are living and working right here in the County. They are here because this is a creative place to live and they might welcome the work because it’s about helping voters find their own voice in a creative way. Heck, some of the candidates have used those designers to create their own campaign visuals. Why not the voters?

The problem is, we have forgotten as voters that we are the clients in an election campaign and we’ve let politicians think their campaigns are about voters buying into their platforms. Shouldn’t a campaign be the candidates making the needs of the voters work for the community?