Editor: Every time the word “amalgamation,” or the date “1998”comes up, I have to shake my head. No one wanted it, but for over 25 years, we have all had to cope as we stumble along.
I share the frustration, even some of the anger, that others are experiencing, but every provincial election I ask myself, why do the constituents of Chatham-Kent–Leamington repeatedly vote Progressive Conservative?
Particularly those that live in the rural parts of Chatham-Kent.
I just don’t get it.
Wells and fresh water; turbine “disturbances;” erosion of roadways along the lake; “de-amalgamation” (there is that word again); downloading of provincial taxes; safety corridors along the 401; explosions in Wheatley; provincial downloading of infrastructure projects; lack of adequate housing; transients; every type of social program becoming municipal; etc. – these are but a few of the things that should turn people away from the Tory vote. But our rural areas continue to vote in the same people that are not doing their job in the first place.
Someone explain to me why the people of Wheatley, Leamington, Blenheim, Ridgetown, Dresden, Thamesville, Bothwell, Wallaceburg, Pain Court, Dover Township, etc. overwhelmingly vote for the likes of Jones and McNaughton (now Pinsonneault). It strikes me that it is just easier for some to dump everything on the Chatham-Kent municipal council because they are present in our daily lives, rather than place all of these provincial responsibilities squarely on the shoulders of our MPPs where they belong.
Dan Kelly
Chatham
