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A quick thread on elections and equity, since @jjhorgan and the @bcndp are seemingly considering calling an early mid-pandemic election.
@richardzussman @RobShaw_BC @charliesmithvcr @keithbaldrey @VaughnPalmer @douglas
#Bcpoli #COVID19AB
1/10
@richardzussman @RobShaw_BC @charliesmithvcr @keithbaldrey @VaughnPalmer @douglas
#Bcpoli #COVID19AB
1/10
You don't get paid to run for office. In fact, you lose a LOT of money when you decide to do it. You have to take time off work, and unless you have a LOT of vacation time you're probably not getting paid.
2/10
2/10
This is part of the reason why legislatures are filled with privileged people such as wealthy, older, white, men. Unless you're retired, a wealthy business owner, a lawyer, or some other high paid job it's not very likely that you can interrupt your life to run for office.
3/10
3/10
If you have a minimum wage job it's damn unlikely you're going to be able to run. If you have kids, if you're from a minoritized group who is paid less, if you're living cheque to cheque, or paying back student loans, or precariously employed in the gig economy, etc etc.
4/10
4/10
This gets even worse if it's an opportunistic "snap" election.
5/10
5/10
I'm planning on running in the next provincial, and thankfully my work has been very accomodating and is letting me take the "unpaid" time off. However, that's based on me giving them some warning so that they can plan around it, so I don't leave my team in the lurch.
6/10
6/10
A snap election really throws a wrench in that. It kills the goodwill that I've built up with my employer, and forces me to choose if it's worth it to run and to damage the relationship with the work that I'd be returning to if I'm not fortunate enough to win.
7/10
7/10
When a government calls an early snap election to try to capitalize on public goodwill and seize more power, it's a HUGE blow to equity in our democracy. It forces out even more people from participating than our elections usually do.
8/10
8/10
It's not only a power grab by the government, but also by the richest and wealthiest among the political class.
9/10
9/10
The @bcndp often claims to care about #SocialJustice and #Equity, but when they pull shit like this it really shows that they're willing to throw those values out the window if there's a possibility of gaining power.
10/10
10/10
