ONLY TEN from Today is Election Day!

Friend --

A Disappointing Result But a very Satisfying and Rewarding Experience.

Well the campaign is over.  The results are in.  What an exhilarating, exhausting, learning, rewarding and satisfying experience it has been.  Obviously, I am disappointed with the result.  I honestly believed that we would have shown a little, okay a lot higher in the vote count.  Despite my disappointment I am so very proud of what my small dedicated group of volunteers and I accomplished in a very, very short period of time.

We faced a very steep uphill battle from the outset.  On May 1^st of this year there wasn’t even an Electoral District Association for my party in this riding.  We built that from nothing.  We had a very small group of volunteers and limited interest until the writ dropped.  Then people started paying attention and our momentum grew steadily.  We had scant financial resources and received few donations until the writ dropped.  Then some money began to trickle in, just enough to put a wrap on my personal vehicle and order a few signs.  There was no money for paid advertising or for larger signs.

We received scant attention from most of the media both for our party and also for my personal campaign her in Saanich Gulf Islands.  Some media outlets were fairer than others.  One ignored us completely.  Kudos to our local Peninsula News Review and reporter Wolf Depner who paid the most attention to our efforts and covered us fairly.  CFAX radio, CTV Vancouver Island and the Times Colonist news teams did a respectable job.  A times Colonist columnist ignored us as well.

We also suffered the effects of the Conservative Party funded Kinsella smear campaign against the People’s Party of Canada.  Despite my years of service to this community as a Saanich Police officer, Canada Border Services officer and community volunteer, I was called a racist several times both to my face and behind my back.  There was a concerted effort by three community associations in Saanich to block my participation in an all candidate meeting at Claremont Secondary School.  My campaign signs were regularly dislodged and thrown into nearby vegetation, vandalized and stolen.  I do not have a final count yet, but I estimate that I lost at least 100 signs at a value of $5 each.

Despite all of these challenges, I enjoyed the experience of running in this election immensely!  I met a lot of very interesting people from diverse background and varying experience.  I engaged in a lot of very stimulating and educational conversations.  I learned a lot about my community that I have lived in since 1991 that I did not know before.  I certainly got to explore it much more extensively.  I learned a lot more about the psychology of voters, people in general and a lot more about myself too.

The people of Saanich Gulf Islands have spoken.  They individually and collectively have cast their ballots for the individual and/or party who they wanted to represent them in our national parliament.  I am disappointed in the result, but I do accept it whole heartedly.  Democracy is not perfect but is better than all of the other alternative forms of government.

Thank you to those of you who had faith enough in me to cast your vote for me.  I am truly honoured and humbled by your support.  Mo matter what some may tell you, your votes were not wasted.  You made an important statement.  The reality is that we did not have the resources to spread our message far and wide enough for it to be heard and considered by all.  The other truth is that some who heard it were not ready to accept it, yet.  In the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, “I’ll be back” for the next election.

https://www.broda2019ppc.ca/donate

Thank you for your support in electing me as your People’s Party of Canada MP.

Ron Broda
https://www.broda2019ppc.ca/