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Election time draws near, again

There may have been an unwritten agreement to ease off on election campaigning before Christmas but as of the New Year that agreement is null and void.

There may have been an unwritten agreement to ease off on election campaigning before Christmas but as of the New Year that agreement is null and void.

The 11 candidates aiming for the sixth and final seat on council will have just over one week to get their message out there before voters go to the polls once again on Saturday, Jan. 11.

Candidate Chris Quinlan said that on Jan. 2, "Expect to see the signs."

He said it’s going to be guerrilla-type campaigning from Jan. 2 to 10 as candidates try to reach as many people as possible in a short time.

In the meantime their campaigning is fairly low-key.

"I just think the electorate are pretty tired," Quinlan said just prior to Christmas.

"People are frazzled and don’t really care right now."

Compared to the weeks leading up to the November election, the run up to this election pales in comparison. November was remembered as a tense time. Election signs littered the roadways. Flyers swirled around town. And the words "dirty politics" reared their ugly head more than once.

"I don’t think it should be a political Christmas," said candidate Rick André, owner of Esquires coffee shop.

Candidate Mitch Rhodes agrees, which prompted him to make the conscious decision to not run any advertising in the local papers or put up signs along the highway, as other candidates have done.

"I don’t think it’s proper to expose our guests to our internal election dilemmas," he said.

Whistler voters are going back to the polls again because of a fluke tie for the sixth seat on council.

Despite three recounts, which gave different tallies each time, a provincial court judge ruled on one ballot, which tied the number of votes for both Dave Kirk and Marianne Wade.

A runoff election within 50 day’s of the judge’s ruling was the only way to break the tie.

That’s why the election campaign fell over the Christmas holidays – Whistler’s busiest season.

"People are focused on doing a good job over our busy season," said Rhodes.

A few of the candidates are hitting the busiest 10 days of their whole year, as guests from around the world flock to the resort for their Christmas vacations.

"My priority right now is my business over Christmas," said Dave Kirk, who owns a handful of sports stores in the village.

"I’m completely convinced that people don’t want to deal with the campaign (at this time)."

At the same time, Kirk can address any concerns while working at the store.

Likewise there are other candidates who are finding that their jobs are coming in handy this time around.

"I’m on the hill every day so I’m seeing tons of local people," said ski instructor Ralph Forsyth, who is also skiing with any voters who want to join him on the slopes on Wednesdays. He’s been very pleased with the turnouts to date. During the last campaign, Forsyth encouraged voters to run with him.

"It’s been even better than before as far as meeting people.

"It’s to my advantage to have the election in January."

And while most candidates may not be actively campaigning at this time, many are networking and talking to potential voters at various Christmas parties.

"It’s not campaigning for the sake of campaigning," said Amar Varma.

"It’s a topic that’s brought up."

The campaigning might not be as busy this time around but at least two candidates have had to cancel or shorten trips over the Christmas holidays.

Marianne Wade will not be spending Christmas with her family in Winnipeg this year, but at the same time she’s trying not to actively campaign.

"I’m just trying to respect people’s space and holiday time," she said, adding that she opted out of putting signs along the highway over the holidays calling it "visual pollution."

Likewise Tyler Mosher had to shorten a family vacation to the Dominican Republic because of his commitment to the campaign.

He calls the runoff election "bad timing, but I want to get elected."

He may not be actively campaigning with signs but he says that through the Internet and specifically with his Web site people can get caught up on the issues on their own time and at their own speed.

Ted Milner, who has put up a few strategic signs to date, says that waiting until the New Year is leaving it a little late for the advanced polls. Voters can go to the advance polls in Whistler on Thursday, Jan. 2 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at municipal hall, and in the West Vancouver Municipal Hall at the same date and time. This will be followed by another advanced poll in Whistler on Saturday, Jan. 4 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"If you wait until after Christmas you’re into the advanced poll and then it’s over," said Milner.

"We think it’s important to get the message out to people."

Election day for the sixth council seat is on Jan. 11 Voting takes place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Myrtle Philip School.