To the editor,
I would first like to thank our freedom fighters for Perth-Wellington. Thank you, Robby Smink, Sandy MacGregor and Bob Hosken. You all ran a race you can be proud of.
A blatant in-your-face observation I would like to make is voter turnout. Out of a total of around 107,000 potential voters in this riding, an appalling 41,534 voters actually turned out to vote.
I would like to address those of you who chose not to vote.
First off, you showed a blatant disrespect for the sacrifices our ancestors made to preserve our rights and freedoms, voting being one of the most foundational of our rights. On this level alone, you need to be ashamed of yourselves, especially come Remembrance Day.
Second, and a little closer to home, you showed a blatant disrespect for your children, your grandchildren and your great grandchildren, because the only way to preserve and maintain our great democracy is through active participation. Even if you “don’t have any interest in politics” it is absolutely and fundamentally your responsibility, out of respect for our future as a nation to participate in the voting process.
Third, and even closest to home, by not participating in the election process, by default you are saying that you completely agree with everything the government is doing either to you, for you, or on your behalf, and that you have given up your right to voice any opinion whatsoever for the next four years.
Matthew Rae won Thursday’s vote in this riding with 19,451 votes out of a total of 41,534 votes. I believe if the voters who chose not to vote evenly decided to vote for Robby, Sandy or Bob, all three candidates would have easily beaten Matthew Rae.
For those of you who voted in Thursday’s election, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
For those of you who chose not to vote in last Thursday’s election, please take what I have just said to heart for the municipal election coming up in October.
Wayne Baker
Wellington North
