Letter to editor:

By Mark Grimstead, Special to MuskokaTODAY.com

Who has earned my vote in this election?

This is a question we should all ask ourselves in every election at any level.

It should not be a matter of personal or family tradition, who knows whom or any other criteria that is not directly connected to the issues that impact all of us.

This election is a provincial election.

It is not about the U.S. president or the tariff wars. That is a complete ruse. This election was planned long before the U.S. election occurred.

Misinformation and diversions are everywhere. Filter out the noise and make a wise decision based on confirmable facts.

The Green Party of Ontario has a platform that aligns most closely with my values. It is about so much more than the environment. It is practical, achievable and affordable. It stresses fairness to all, real fixes to an increasing health care crisis, a plan to help education workers.

The Green plan promotes business and entrepreneurial spirit and making decisions that plan for the long term. It is devoid of cliché expressions and silly slogans such as ‘Buck a Beer’ and ‘The Six Mllion Dollar Man.’

Please checkout the platforms of each party.

The Green Party is the only party that does not tell its caucus how to vote. We deserve an MPP who will not sit passively in his seat and do what he is told to do by Mr. Ford.

Matt Richter will make decisions based on what is in the best interests of his constituents.

He has proven over time to be a person of high integrity. Everything flows from personal values. I trust Matt Richter.

Mike Schreiner demonstrates all of the qualities of highly competent leaders. Beyond his personal charisma, there is substance. He stands out as the very best party leader by any metric. Conversations with him are meaningful and thought-provoking.

Ford Factor:

Follow the money. Here is a brief accounting of the outrageous fiscal mismanagement by the Doug Ford government. A totally unnecessary early election call by a majority government that already does anything it wants:

• $189 million election;
• Doug Buck Bribes @ $200 per resident $3 billion. Note: Starving homeless people do not get one cent. Wealthy and well off people who do not need it and never asked for it, received it.
• License plate fee scrap: $1.1 billion. Note: Those who cannot afford a vehicle save nothing. Those who can afford a fleet of five vehicles save $600. Every renewal;
• Rushing alcohol into corner stores, breaking previous contracts in place: $650 million and counting.

Mr. Ford was elected on a promise to eliminate wasteful spending. On the contrary, he has an irrefutable record of fiscal mismanagement.

Nothing indicates that his simple-minded spending spree will stop.

His own party members lack the courage to even question him. Many otherwise intelligent MPPs who transitioned from leadership roles in civilian life or municipal politics, completely abandoned the basic tenets of leadership by going silent during every one of Ford’s fiscal follies.

Does it seem at all plausible that every one of the 80 plus PC caucus members supported the license fee scrap, rushing alcohol into corner stores, Doug Bucks for all but those who need it, the destruction of Ontario Place, the Greenbelt disaster and this completely unnecessary $189M election?

Not a chance.

What was lacking? Courage and leadership.

Blind loyalty is not leadership, it is neglect of duty.

Green policies prevent that from happening. Green members work for their constituents. The polls also show Richter and the PC candidate are in a close two-person race.

My vote counts. Your vote counts. Every vote counts.

We need pushback in Queen’s Park. Matt Richter will provide desperately needed healthy and thoughtful debate in the legislature.

Richter has offered his services to us for 18 years (six elections), at great personal sacrifice. He is in this for us, not for himself. He is the definition of public service and will represent all of us, no matter our traditional political leanings.

He has earned the opportunity to serve as our MPP for Parry Sound-Muskoka. Give him that chance by voting for him.

Mark Grimstead is a retired Muskoka educator living in Bracebridge