Monday, January 02, 2006

Boulevards Don't Vote

It's a phrase one of my pals an NDP campaign organizer uses alot. We would argue about it. Boulevard signs catch a drivers or bus pasangers eye but they say nothing about support for the candidate. So essentially he is right.

Get them signs out in front of houses. That shows real tangible support and influences the neighbours. A sign in front of a house shows a vote. Count em and weep with joy or humility.


Now in areas of Edmonton Strathcona including where I live, I see NDP Candidate Linda Duncan signs popping up all over the place. Including in front of houses that have NEVER had a sign before and some that have had other party signs in front of them in the past. A tour through parts of the riding** see her signs outnumbering incumbent Jaffer's signs.

She has few Boulevard signs yet. While her competitor the incumbent Conservative Rahim Jaffer has lots and lots of big old boulevard signs. And signs on buildings. Like Boulevards, Buildings don't vote. And they show what one would expect from the Landlord class, that they vote Conservative.

Well not all Landlords, some of them vote Liberal. The first Liberal candidate signs I saw were today, in front of walk up apartment buildings. Every campaign the Liberals and the Conservatives battle it out for the Landlord vote. But house signs are where its really at, and Linda and the NDP are doing the job to pull the vote. It will be an interesting night come January 23.

In Edmonton Mill Woods Beaumont, the same thing again, a three way boulevard fight between the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP. But again fence signs which are popular in this riding show a great wave of support for the Liberal candidate Grewal. Lots of houses have large fences and berm fences, so big signs work in Millwoods. And lots of houses have Liberal signs more so than either the Conservatives or NDP.

Conservative Mike Lake has taken to having boulevard signs all over the main roads, including some on the grounds of a local church that was the centre of an Anti-Gay Marriage Rally here last spring.

Of course like Edmonton Strathcona the ethnic fix is in. Both Grewal and Jaffer can count on Indo-Canadian sign and financial support, but whether they can count on their votes is another question. In both cases those votes may make the difference in this election. Again another nailbiter in this riding on the night of January 23.


** this is a purely anectodal assessment and does not reflect any empirical data about the various party's signage.


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