I see that NDP MP Alex Atamanenko is at it again (Boundary change proposal raises political ire, Aug.24).
This time he has contacted local municipal councils to engage their support to essentially keep him and the NDP in power in this riding. He seems that worried.
When councillor Kathy Moore states that she’s “concerned that our issues and rural concerns are going to get lost in the shuffle” she presumes that our voice is currently heard in Ottawa. That’s too funny.
Atamanenko has been elected NDP MP long enough that you would think his new leader, Montreal’s Thomas Mulcair, would have given him an important position in the shadow cabinet. Mulcair did not. Although, maybe now he will, so, keep a watching brief on this as we move towards the next federal election.
Don’t let Atamanenko’s “peacenik” image mask the fact that he is a media-savvy politician who wants to be re-elected.
For those who support economic development and wish less reliance on government control in our daily lives, we would like to at least have a fighting chance to elect someone from another political party.
With the stranglehold Atamanenko has in this riding, there isn’t much point in even showing up to vote. However, a change in riding boundaries allows non NDP voters to participate more fully; even to the point of having a real election race.
The NDP is all about buzzwords such as “proportional representation”. But, just try making this riding a more level playing field. What you get instead is a strong reaction and media campaign from the NDP MP to keep the riding for himself and his “hippie” ideology.
Isn’t time to rethink the party of perpetual protest for one that creates new private sector jobs?
In recent memory, this riding elected one person who was actually part of a governing party. That man was PC MP Bob Briscoe. One in a hundred years?
So, if Penticton hasn’t been a part of the riding for a hundred years, maybe it’s time for a change.
Because, what we have now isn’t working for many of us who would like to see a more diversified economy capable of creating new jobs for our children and grandchildren.
Rose Calderon
Trail