Five candidates.
That will be the number of options seen on the ballots when Fraser-Nicola goes to the polls this weekend.
We have incumbent Liberal Jackie Tegart. We have the NDP’s Aaron Sumexheltza. We have the Green Party’s Jonah Timms. We also have the option for two Independent candidates this year, in Merritt Councillor Mike Bhangu and former NDPer Dennis Adamson.
This will be my first election in Merritt, so I am not sure how many candidates have been on the ballot here in our riding in the past. Five seems like a good number of options, though, for our small communities.
Of course, some of you have already voted: advance polls have been open since last week, and we state in this week’s edition that around ten-percent of voters requested mail-in ballots, and I’m sure have already stuck many of them in the mail slot.
Some, of course, have already made up their minds and know which circle they will fill on Saturday.
But for those undecided, make sure you still vote. Do your research over the next few days and go pick the candidate who you think best represents our community, because whether you are into politics or not, we are all greatly affected by the outcome.
Young people: this is our (your?) time.
Let the games begin.
