The municipal election is coming up on October 22, and the mayoral candidates headed over to Western to try and get some last minute votes. Candidates Paul Cheng, Tanya Park, Paul Paolatto, and Ed Holder had booths set up in the UCC and spent the day reaching out to students.
Candidate Paul Cheng
Tanya Park and Paul Cheng were the only candidates themselves who made an appearance and when asked why he felt it was important to be on campus Cheng said: “the students need a friendly face to remember.” Cheng says that getting students to care about a municipal election is difficult but if you give them a voice and a face to recognize then maybe they will be more inclined to vote.
David Carlson is a member of Ed Holders campaign team and says that students don’t care about the election because they don’t realize they are eligible to vote. Contrary to popular belief you don’t have to have a permanent address in London to vote in the upcoming election. Carlson says that students spend about ten months a year in London and deserve to have a say in what happens.
“The students have a voice and they deserve to have it heard”
– David Carlson
Shaae is one of the students involved in Tanya Park’s campaign and she came forward to voice her support for the ward 13 candidates. She says that she feels it is important for Western and Fanshawe students to take action about municipal issues because “the city of London exists even when you are no longer living in it.” She supports the Tanya Park campaign because she strongly supports the BRT action plan. She says if students took the time to educate themselves about issues in London such as the BRT, they would be able to see how it can dramatically affect them; and maybe then they would care.
