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Votewhistler.com to help voters get informed

Non-partisan site pools information on Whistler candidates

After the last municipal election in 2002, Duane Perrett wasn’t sure if he made the right choices – with 18 candidates running for council, it was a lot of information to process.

"I realized that I was not informed, I did not know enough about the candidates," he said. "I read the newspapers and what was out there, but there wasn’t enough information on some of the candidates. I also talked to friends, and we all agreed there were people on the ballot that we’ve never heard of, and I’ve been living here for 30 years."

Perrett started the VoteWhistler.com ( www.votewhistler.com ) project for himself and his friends, but realized early on this was a resource that could be valuable for the rest of the community as well. The goal, he says, is to ensure that people have access to all the information available on candidates and can head to the polls on Nov. 19 and make an informed decision.

To set up this site he enlisted the help of his brother-in-law and rented the VoteWhistler.com domain name. He then set out to gather all the information he could on the candidates – pictures, contact information, links to websites, and copies of flyers, as well as general information on the election itself, like a calendar of events, and a guide for voters. He also added a web forum where people can discuss the candidates and the election, which Perrett himself will mediate. Anything goes, except for swearing and slander.

"My feeling is that local employees… aren’t voting enough, and one of the reasons is they don’t feel educated enough. They aren’t voting or they’re voting with bad information," said Perrett. "The same goes for myself, I have no idea who I’m going to vote for in this election, and I would feel better if I had all the information available.

"The website has the same information for all the candidates, and no agenda – it’s just for getting the information out there."

Perrett has gotten permission from the Resort Municipality of Whistler to post signs directing people to his website.

So far the idea has been well-received. More information is still coming in from the candidates, but so far he has pictures and/or contact information for all but five of the council candidates, and seven out of eight mayoral candidates.

Candidate Websites:

Whistler Mayor

Mike Brew – www.brew4mayor.com

Ken Melamed – www.electmelamedmayor.com

Ted Nebbeling – www.tednebbeling.com

Kristi Wells – www.wellsformayor.com

Whistler Council

Shane Bennett – www.whistlerpolitics.com

Ralph Forsyth – www.ralphforsyth.com

Eckhard Zeidler – www.eckhardzeidler.ca

Inge Flanagan – www.webspawner.com/users/voteinge/

Bob Lorriman – www.lorriman.ca

Gordon McKeever – www.gordonmckeever.ca

Marianne Wade – www.wade2005.com <

Tim Wake –  www.timwake.ca

Eckhard Zeidler – www.eckhardzeidler.ca