It's that time again, and apparently this year, it's that time in a bigger way.
It's election season, which sees candidates put their best feet forward and give would-be voters their best self in the hopes of garnering that coveted 'X' mark come Decision Day.
This particular year, it's also election season times three, which sees communities around the province hold their local municipal elections, while Saskatchewan itself is in the midst of another provincial election, and then when we venture south across the border, our American neighbors find themselves in all the chaos and hullabaloo that is only brought by a presidential election.
At the local level, this includes many towns and villages who are looking to elect or re-elect their mayors and associated councils. In some places, this can mean several different outcomes. You can find places where the current mayor is seeking another term, and you can find other places where the current mayor has decided to retire their proverbial gavel. In Outlook, for example, the town already finds itself with a new mayor in current councillor Ryan Husband, who threw his name into the hat and wound up with no fellow opponents; this coming after current mayor Maureen Weiterman revealed her decision to exit the local political picture.
At the provincial level, it's the standard matchup between the Scott Moe-led Saskatchewan Party and the Carla Beck-led NDP, but some other opponents are making this particular battle more interesting. There's the Progressive Conservative party, with talking bullet points such as wanting, "A heritage of freedom based on individual initiative, honour, integrity and moral responsibility", "Equal rights under the law for all without discrimination", and "Government as the servant, not the master".
There's also the Saskatchewan United party, who call their official platform a "blueprint for change" in the province, including declaring a war on crime with promises of increasing funding for police departments, building specialized task forces to target drug dealers and gangs, dismantling and cutting off the supply of drugs and the drug trade, and operating under a zero tolerance policy for violent and repeat offenders.
I've got to say, based on what I've read about all the parties, the provincial political scene comes off as a little overcrowded. For 17 years now, this has essentially been a one-on-one battle every election between the Sask Party and the NDP, but now we have these new arrivals that have actually started to gain traction due to their ability to appeal to voters who might feel left out or perhaps ignored by their former parties. For example, I've seen the Sask United party gain support on social media because to some voters, they come across as a no-nonsense, get-things-done-NOW kind of party who might be able to nip problems in the bud. On the other hand, I've also seen support for the Progressive Conservatives, who across as something of a hybrid between Conservatives and Liberals. They're able to combine things like hard stances with empathy and find a way to make that appealing to voters, and in some parts of the province, that seems to be working.
These are the things I see on the campaign trails and the televised debates, and these are the things that I hear when I'm talking to candidates.
You want me to be really honest, though?
It can feel recycled and it can feel repetitive. Especially when I remember that I've been doing this for as long as I have.
The candidates give you their best pitches and they present you with their best-laid plans, and it's ultimately up to YOU to decide who is most deserving of your vote come Election Day. Did THIS point appeal to you? Did you like what they said about THIS or THAT program? Did you like THAT promise to spend THIS much money on THESE programs over here?
At the end of the day, these are things that people are going to be asking themselves come Election Day in the province.
And despite my feelings of things coming off as repetitive or recycled at times, I obviously still recognize that moments like these are important landmarks in our province. Our leaders need us to get out and vote, and so we do so in the hopes that we're putting the most qualified people in charge of how our province wakes up and operates every day, every week, every month, and every year.
There's a certain excitement that can come from that, I suppose. And I got to say, it's incredible when I remember where I was on Election Night in November of 2007 to where things stand now in the province. I was over in Rosetown at the campaign headquarters of Jim Reiter, who was seeking his first term as an MLA for the Saskatchewan Party. Of course, everyone reading this knows how that turned out. The Party was elected, as was Jim, and heck, even 17 years later, he's still going strong as an MLA for the west side of the South Saskatchewan River.
That was my first provincial election as a reporter, and I've seen my fair share ever since.
Whether it's the provincial scene, or the municipal one, things on the horizon are looking pretty interesting for the time being.
We'll see how these particular stories play out.
Wherever you live - get out and rock that vote in both your communities and your provincial ridings!
For this week, that's been the Ruttle Report.
