Green Party candidate Fiorito explains the damage done by voting strategically.

News 100 greenBy Staff

June 5th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

What happens when the fringe becomes part of the Mainstream political culture?

The Green Party has been advocating for the environment the day it was formed.

At the recent Canadian Federation of University Women Green candidate Vince Fiorito gave then a stark lesson.

Vince smiling - head cocked

Vince Fiorito – environmentalist and Burlington Green Party candidate

“We talk about the economy, our health and the environment and sometimes rank them with the environment being the last of the three”, said Fiorito.

“Without an environment that can sustain is – there is no health and there are no jobs.”

Put the environment first urges Fiorito – and start doing so soon – we may not have all that much time left before the environment gives up on us.

Vince Fiorito is an environmentalist first – who aspires to be a politician. He has been around Green Party politics for several elections. Ran in Burlington in 2014 then spent most of his time in Guelph where the Greens were certain they would take that seat. They didn’t.

This time around Fiorito is just as certain that the Greens are finally going to have a seat in the provincial legislature – and he might be right. The Guelph seat should go to the Greens but with the fear surrounding Doug Ford people are voting strategically and that rubs the wrong way with Vince Fiorito.

“Fear of a PC boogieman to encourage strategic voting is a tactic used by the Green Party’s rivals to steal votes from us. The fact is, strategic voting almost always backfires.

“Fear of Harper and strategic voting, handed Trudeau Liberals a majority government in 2015. If more people had voted for their values rather against who they hated, its likely Trudeau would have only won a minority government, our electoral system would be reformed and I would not be planning to go to BC to get arrested at a pipeline protest.

“Strategic voting and fear of Tim Hudak in 2014 is why GPO leader Mike Schreiner didn’t win in Guelph and was blocked from the televised “All Leaders” Debates.

“I doubt Green Party supporters who voted strategically against the Green party in 2014 and 2015, wanted electoral reform to be shelved, the federal government to spend billions on a pipeline across BC and to silence the Green Party’s voice. Yet these are the consequence of past Green Party supporter strategic voting.

Sheldon Creek - vince in high water

Fiorito cleaning up a ravine in Burlington.

“Isn’t it about time, Green Party supporters stopped voting out of fear and hate and started voting based on our shared values? The lesser of two evils is still evil

“Latest polls indicate the NDP and PCs are tied, with the Liberals and Greens in 3rd and 4th. That means the PC’s have nearly no chance of winning a majority government. Most likely we are headed towards an unstable minority government, with the Liberals and/or the Greens holding the balance of power. Likely this government is not going to last. I predict we will be in another provincial election within six months. Anyone who wants to vote Green can safely do so in this election, without fear that they will help the PC’s win a majority government.

Mike portrait small Green party

Green Party Ontario leader Mike Schreiner

“Have you ever once heard anyone advocating voting Green strategically? Since GPO leader Mike Schreiner in Guelph is winning, you’d think the strategic vote in that riding would be to vote Green. Why is strategic voting always at the expense of the Green party? When have either of these parties ever conceded that you shouldn’t vote for their candidate because it might help elect the PC candidate?

“Every vote is worth $2 and change per year under the new Ontario election law. If you vote Green, you help fund the Green Party. If you vote for someone else, then you help fund our political rivals.

“The main parties could have reformed our electoral system to make every vote count a long time ago. But they won’t do it, because strategic voting helps them at the expense of the Green Party. Isn’t that a good reason for Green Party supporters to not NOT to vote for them? If you want our electoral system to be reformed, then you MUST punish parties that encourage strategic voting and vote for someone else.

“Anyone who claims you should never vote Green, because it always helps the PCs are either being manipulative, or they have been manipulated. Unless you actually know it’s a close race between PC candidate and another party candidate IN YOUR RIDING, then you can’t know what is the best way to vote strategically IN YOUR RIDING against the PC candidate. What the polls say provincially is not an accurate indicator of how you should vote strategically IN YOUR RIDING.”

Vince Fitorio

Vince Fiorito – Watershed Steward.

With Vince Fiorito you always know where he stands.

“Climate change and a biodiversity crisis threaten to leave future generations a resource depleted dying planet. Time for action on these problems is running out. Voting for business as usual will lead to catastrophe. If NOW isn’t the right time to vote Green, then when would that time be?

graphic01

Return to the Front page
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

3 comments to Green Party candidate Fiorito explains the damage done by voting strategically.

  • emile godin

    i voted NDP once 1990 no never again possible you were not around to see what happened well i will not forget.

  • emile godin

    green party wow they are going to save the planet get real

  • Collin

    Thanks to the Gazette, we DO actually know it’s a close race in Burlington between the PC and NDP candidates — and probably getting closer given the news about Renata Ford’s lawsuit against Doug. If you want to do some real damage to the environment, help the Tories get elected. Look at their flip flop on the escarpment — if Doug had made his statement after he was elected, nothing would have stopped them from opening up the greenbelt to highways and suburban sprawl. If you want to stop the Tories, the best choice in this riding, in this election, is to vote NDP. For better or worse, that’s the choice for environmentalists and anyone else who doesn’t want a tin-pot Donald Trump as our next premier.