Sigh…

by SHERALYN ROMAN

I had vague hopes of perhaps not writing about the upcoming election this week, but this of course was very naive of me. Although it feels like I’ve been writing about it forever, it wouldn’t make sense to stop now when we are so close to election day.

Unfortunately, the shenanigans, the accusations and the misinformation has reached an all-time high.

Perhaps things are so heated in this election because we all know how important the outcome is to the future of Caledon. Regardless of where you stand, however, on one thing I would have hoped we’d all agree, there is no place for some of this nonsense. Sigh…. Apparently, we don’t all agree.

I’m not going to talk about signs again except to say it’s absurd to witness the complete disregard for bylaws, the apparent thievery, and wanton sign destruction that’s taking place across the board. Grow up. Follow the rules. Don’t vandalize. It really is that simple.

Speaking of rules, here’s one I truly didn’t think we would have to worry about: don’t campaign at a polling station! While I was thrilled to see significant numbers of residents out at early polling stations; I was not so thrilled to see and hear about the flagrant disregard for the rules of our political process. It was so bad in some locations that the Town was forced to send out an email reminder to all candidates stating what should be obvious: no campaigning at polling stations, no campaign literature and no discernible bias demonstrated by scrutineers IN or NEAR polling stations.

Reportedly, the email to all candidates (although I don’t know that all candidates needed the reminder) highlighted several concerns including: “There were reports of campaigning outside voting places,” leaving the Town to remind everyone, “that campaigning outside voting places is prohibited and we ask that campaigning occur at a respectful distance away from any voting place, far enough to not be associated with the voting place.” As well, it stated that, “Scrutineers were reported to demonstrate assertive or aggressive tones that caused disruption in the voting place. Including campaigning for the candidates who appointed them.” Finally, the email also included a polite reminder to candidates, “please encourage respectful, neutral scrutiny of the vote without campaigning.” These are each things that make me sigh and for which we shouldn’t need reminding. I’ll let third party registered advertiser Democracy Caledon have the final word on this one: “Your vote matters. So does respecting the democratic process.”

Additionally, while scanning for something else on the Town of Caledon’s social media pages, we found multiple reminders about election signage, where it’s allowed and where it is not. So, it seems it’s still a pretty big issue. See paragraph two folks. Enough with the reminders, just do the right damn thing.

In addition to shenanigans like alleged intimidation and smearing candidate reputations, this election has also seen a significant rise in hateful, intolerant, rhetoric directed at some candidates and/or their followers. I recall during the 2018 election, while running for a school board position, someone I love received a message to “pass along” to me. Too chicken to call me themselves, they harassed a family member of mine instead. Later, we also experienced a second, separate incident at our family home. So, I can personally attest that intolerance and election-related nastiness has existed in the past and has been directed at candidates from a wide-range of backgrounds.

However, with that said, this election really seems to be drawing the absolute worst individuals out of the woodwork. We have been made aware of what seems to be a significant escalation in the volume, and blatantly hurtful, intimidating, and sadly also racist, and intolerant messaging being directed towards some candidates.

Caledon, we are better than this. Over and over again we have spoken about how important this election is to determining the future direction of our Town. What that means is choosing the best candidates to sit around the council table, candidates who can work together, united under a Mayor working for all of Caledon in order to protect our common interests. It is absolutely NOT a license to sow hatred and division.

Suffice to say I’ve been doing an awful lot of sighing these past few months. I’ve also been holding my tongue in this space about who I think best represents the interests of Caledon moving forward. What I can no longer hold my tongue about, however, is the outright racism, flagrant rule-breaking, alleged intimidation and the sheer volume of misinformation being shared including, in one instance, by someone whose alleged (but possibly fake) profile describes them as a “professional storyteller.” Beware Caledon. The consequences to our community are dire, but the consequences of such awful behaviour by individuals? That’s intolerable on a much more human scale.