Editor:
I make little apology for having principles and values that are broadly on the left. I believe that government can and must be a positive force in mitigating gross inequities of the market and I believe that everybody deserves a fair shot at happiness and success.
It often surprises my friends and colleagues outside of South Delta that there are, in fact, a lot of folks on the democratic left living in this beautiful community, but I fear that too many of those who share my values mistakenly believe there is more than one choice for them.
There is only one real progressive choice in Delta South, and that choice is not Vicki Huntington.
Huntington is undoubtedly non-partisan, but she is hardly non-ideological. To the contrary, she has proven herself to be wholly dedicated the same tired old right-wing ideas that have led B.C. to have the highest level of income inequality in Canada, the highest rate of child poverty and some of the lowest wages despite the highest costs of living.
Take, for instance, Huntington's pre-occupation with the provincial deficit.
Economists such as Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman have made it clear that government deficits in the West are, at worst, of mild mid-term concern. The real economic concerns here in B.C. are unemployment and inequality.
The explosion in economic inequality we have witnessed over the past 12 years is shocking. We need smart public spending that will alleviate this inequality and stimulate the economic growth needed to create more jobs.
We need fair economic policies that will strengthen middle-class families, but I'm not convinced Huntington agrees: she even voted against Family Day.
Progressives in this community have a chance to have a voice in a new government that will make modest, practical changes in public policy that will address the most important issues facing this province: inequality, affordability and poverty. Let's not squander this opportunity.
Thomas Antony Falcone
