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Another riding closing in on a Green seat!!
Internal polling is showing 38% committed support for Ben Polley in Guelph’s greenest polls – areas the Greens have enjoyed averages of 15% since 2003. That is more than double the support and the best part is that a further 21% are “leaning Green” with only 16% committed to another party.
This is great news especially when we have learned that 25% of those polled are undecided giving the Greens an excellent chance. Feedback comes into the campaign office daily from people who say they’re voting green for the first time in this election, our hard work over the years is showing its rewards.
The local daily endorsed Ben in the article “Polley would shake things up” see below and http://news.guelphmercury.com/article/245901 is powerful
And the message is being reinforced with two full page ads and an endorsement from world-renowned author & futurist Thomas Homer-Dixon who recent book is titled The Upside of Down.
Polley would help shake things up
October 03, 2007
GUELPH MERCURY
. . . the urge to turn things upside down and go Green is strong, especially following last week’s televised debate co-sponsored by the Mercury.
All of the candidates performed well that night at the Guelph Place Banquet Hall — . . . but the person who made the greatest impression was Ben Polley.
The Green party candidate is thoughtful and truly believes what he is selling. He has a confidence about him and demands you take him seriously. He went from being a guy with nice ideas who will never win, to one deserving serious consideration.
Voting for Polley would not be a wasted vote, and sending him to Queen’s Park would not be giving up our voice.
You can easily imagine a “fringe party” representative sitting quietly in the back row of the legislature, blending in with the wallpaper and not being heard from again until re-election time. With Polley, it is clear this would not be the case.
As potentially the first Green MPP, he would be sought out by the Toronto and provincial media for his perspective on all kinds of issues — and they’d keep going back to him for more, too, because he’d offer great quotes.
He’s on topic and effective, makes for great sound bites — someone alert the media.
And when political watchers in other centres get a feel for him through his regular appearances on the evening news and in the big-market newspapers, they’ll realize that the Green guy isn’t the whacko they feared from the former fringe party. A lot of his ideas make perfect sense and, come to think of it, their local Green candidate had made compelling points during the election, too.
They just didn’t vote for that person because they figured there was no way they’d win, but maybe next time they’ll give Green a chance.
And when it happens that electing a few Green MPPs around the province doesn’t cause the roof of the legislature to cave in — and their presence is no longer a novelty act — the good folks of Guelph will be able to say with pride that we were first.
Our reputation as a green community, once strong because we knew how to deal with our garbage, will again be intact. This time it will be because we had the guts to put party politics aside and send someone to Queen’s Park who will not only question the way things are done — anyone can do that — but offer thoughtful alternatives worth consideration.
Like Polley said at the debate: “I’m not asking you to overthrow the government, just shake it up a little.”
. . . Polley demands consideration.
Congrats to Ben and best of luck to the team in Guelph on this final push!