Wishful Thinking 006: All-Candidate Trackers
Last Friday I attended an all-candidates meeting called the "Namaste Debate". Once again, the PC candidate did not show up. Moreover, a candidate that did show (representing the None of the Above Party) was denied a spot on stage. Both of these things make me grumpy.
I suspect that skipping unfavourable all-candidates meetings (eg those not sponsored by Rogers, the Record or the Chamber of Commerce) is a deliberate tactic by the Ontario PC party and the federal Conservative party. I have read many reports of Conservatives skipping all-candidates meetings. All-candidates meetings have many problems, but they remain the best way to compare the strengths and weaknesses of local candidates against each other (which is one reason I think the Conservatives avoid them). Unfortunately, I only know of anecdotes. I do not know of a (former) PC candidate confessing that this strategy is real, and I do not have systematic data.
Similarly, most all-candidates debates only include candidates from the major parties (which may or may not include the Greens). This policy is antidemocratic. There are ways to manage all-candidates debates even when there are many contenders.
So I wish there was systematic data about these phenomenon. I would like a portal which recorded the following information:
- News about upcoming all-candidates meetings in a region
- A record of which candidates showed up
- A record of which candidates showed up but were not permitted to participate
I feel that such a portal would make the trends clear, and might shame the Conservatives into sending their candidates out to face the electorate head-to-head against their competition.
I would like this to exist but I am not committed to contributing anything towards it. So I think it will not happen.