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Political roles

Invermere man weighs in on "donnybrook" between MLA Norm Macdonald and Doug Clovechok.

Dear Editor,

Fresh out of high school I went to work for the retail giant Dylex. The company’s name is an acronym that literally stands for Damn Your Lame EXcuses. NO lame excuses would ever account for poor performance.

I would like to inject the term “Dylex” into the editorial donnybrook between MLA, Norm MacDonald and the one Norm refers to as “the local BC Liberals spokesperson.” He dare not speak his name out of fear of conjuring up a monster- not unlike like Beetlejuice or Bloody Mary!

This round: “Politics vs Accomplishments.”

Norm’s official opponent, BC Liberal Candidate Doug Clovechok comes out swinging suggesting a responsible MLA should give constituents continued updates on his accomplishments not just a bi-weekly anti-BC Liberal commentary. Norm vehemently disagrees, claiming that letting us know what he is up to would be akin to creating a “bragging list” and transparency surrounding his work would breach the MLA’s “code of ethics?” Dylex! Norm explains his primary role is to spout a non-stop smear campaign against the BC Liberal Party.

Norm clearly deserves some kudos; he works very hard for his party and he is a good critic - this is an essential component of his role and serves to keep the conversations and issues balanced. What about the rest of the role? What about fair representation for ALL of us? What about jobs, healthcare, education and infrastructure? Many of us feel orphaned by Norm’s lack of representation, forcing us to search out surrogates in his absence. He has left us cut off, stranded - he had severed many ties between us and Victoria, he stands shoulder to shoulder with special interest groups and fights to kill jobs in our region, simultaneously ignoring the voices of those who support responsible growth. Dylex Norm!! For 8 years we’ve waited for your bragging lists and all we get week after week is NDP grandstanding and excuses.

To date Doug’s bragging list is very impressive. Many of us already rely on him to carry our urgent needs to the provincial and federal government and they listen. Doug supports education, strong communities, opportunities for families and initiatives that create jobs. He is working to improve vital staffing in our healthcare system, fights for seniors and aids in creating partnerships for industry. Aside from his full time job, Doug works tirelessly in communities throughout the CRR to improve the overall quality of life for people in our region - all of this and he still finds ample time to rebuke socialism and criticize the NDP Party.

Norm is well paid by the tax payers of BC and boasts the third highest travel expenses in the province - we had an expectation of a much higher return on our investment than an NDP cheerleader...

Doug already understands the roles and responsibilities of an MLA and acts accordingly - I will look forward to reading the lists of his accomplishments as our MLA - accomplishments that will be worth bragging for!

Dave McGrath  -  Invermere