Morantz; Impressive Candidate, Unimpressive Literature
I have to admit that, out of the gate, Marty Morantz was looking pretty good to me. He is a former City Councilor that tried to get rid of the excessive parting gifts that Councilors get once their term is done. He wasn't successful, but he did put his money where his mouth was, so to speak. He donated his entire severance payment, over $20,000 to the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre. It is difficult not to be impressed by that. I was intrigued so I made a few inquiries. It turns out he has a history of philantrophy in Winnipeg and seemed to be an ethical City Councillor. So, I am going to give him serious consideration.
So far, I think he is a good candidate who is getting some bad advice. I hope to offer some better advice.
First of all, the Conservatives really think they can win this riding so they seem to be throwing every thing they have got into this campaign. The problem is they really don't have anything. The federal Conservatives don't really have any rising stars or any other candidates that are generating any attention. All they have is Andrew Scheer. And, for some reason, people seem to think that he is creepy. I don't know why this is but we are just not that into him. So, Marty has been campaigning with a lot of no-name MPs and some other has beens. It is just not impressing. He needs to stick to his strength and that is his character. I see his bus benches for example, and they are going with this four point plan which doesn't impressive me much.
Regardless, I wasn't home when he knocked on my door but he did leave some literature in my mailbox. It amazes me how sometimes a campaign takes on a life of its own and common sense seems to leave. If he is relying on this literature, his campaign is in trouble. This is nothing more than my opinion, but here is everything wrong with this double sided postcard.
First of all, my environmental footprint is important to me. I get enough crap in the mail that serves no purpose but killing trees. I think political candidates need to lead the movement to reduce our environmental footprint. I think that should be expressed on any campaign leadership. I think they need to mention that on all literature such as "this is printed on compostable material" or "made from recycled paper" or something.
Secondly, on the front side of the postcard, there is an image of the Canadian flag. It is so very faint you have to really look to see it. I don't like that. I am proud to be a Canadian and I am proud of what our flag represents. It shouldn't look like it is being hid or down-played.
There is a picture of Marty. Let's face it, he is an attractive man with a stunning smile. I like the picture except for the wardrobe choice. He is wearing a blue collared shirt. I assume he is trying to appeal to blue-collar workers. That doesn't work for me. I don't have many illusions about what a candidate can do for me so my bar is very low, however, I do expect authenticity from my elected officials. Marty is a successful lawyer. He should be proud of what he has achieved and what he has done in our community. He is a great guy but he is not a blue-collar worker. I don't like him pretending that he is. I value authenticity.
At the bottom of the front side, there is a tag line. "Making Life More Affordable for Manitoba Families." Don't like that either. Many of us are already confused by having the Provincial election and Federal election so close together. Don't add to the confusion by telling us what you propose to do for Manitoba families. That is up to provincial candidates to tell us their plan. Also, I am getting an increase sense that Canada is becoming more polarized. We need federal candidates that are going to have a plan to bring us together as a nation. We need to emphasize what makes us Canadian and to make us feel proud that we are working together. We don't need federal candidates contributing to the polarization by only focusing on their area or constituency. We need a national affordable housing strategy, for example, that works for all Canadians. I want to vote federally for someone who is going to work at bringing Canadians together. I will have a different criteria when I vote in the provincial election.
Moving to the back of the postcard. Again, the headline is that the Conservative Team will stand up for Manitobans by...... I don't like that. You are a national party. It would have more credibility it you said that the Conservative Team will stand up for Canadians.
And, then there is the four point plan that also appears on bus benches:
a) scrapping the carbon tax. I don't like paying taxes anymore than anyone but I feel the carbon tax is very misunderstood. Making money for the government is not really the motivation. The motivation is to be the core policy for reducing and eventually eliminating the use of fossil fuels whose combustion is destabilizing our climate. Quite frankly, it is intended to make our use of fossil fuels more costly in order to encourage better environmental choices. Scrapping the carbon tax is nothing more than an oversimplified campaign slogan. I want a candidate or a party to show leadership on the issue of climate change. Apparently, Sheer has a plan for addressing climate change but I don't know many details. You would think if the Conservatives were proud of this, they would make more of an issue of it. Overall, I'm not impressed by hearing what you are against. I want to know what you are in favor of.
b) lowering taxes for hardworking families. Who would find fault with this? Well, I do. I know I am being a little absurd, but what are you going to do for single people? You are only going to help families? And, only hard-working families? And, who defines hard-working? I have to tell you, your party has a reputation for being elitist. So, I am afraid I think you are correlating hard-working with income. So, if a family makes over $100,000/year they will qualify as hard-working. However, I know many single parent families working two jobs and only making $50,000/year. Are you going to help them or are they not hard-working enough? It implies tax relief for the rich.
c) Fighting the crystal meth crisis. No one is going to disagree with that except that statement says nothing. Usually, when people use the word "fighting" in relation to street drugs, they mean more law enforcement. I don't think that is effective. I don't want people fighting the crystal meth crisis, I want people addressing the crystal meth crisis. Word choices are important to me. Addressing means listening, involving the people actually using the drugs, it might mean safe injection sites, and it certainly means more treatment. I don't want a fighter, I want a consensus builder.
d) Removing GST from home-heating bills. I have a short attention span. Right now, we are in a summer heat wave and I'm complaining it is too hot. I have forgotten all about the 8 months of winter which also means that I am oblivious to my home-heating bill so I have no interest in that at all.
Finally, we are told that it is time to elect an experienced, new MP........Typical Conservative oxymoron.
Marty Morantz is an impressive candidate with innovative ideas and a great history of doing the right thing and making the community stronger. Start high-lighting that. Stop presenting yourself as a Scheer sheep. Unless, of course, you actually don't want to get elected......
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