MLAs From Same Town

Charge: STV will result in less local representation since all MLAs will come from the same town.

The election results from countries that have BC-STV show that the candidates do not all come from the same town… that this does not tend to occur. The candidates tend to be well distributed as shown by the results in the Irish rural districts, http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msa=0&ll=52.822683,-8.162842&spn=2.987736,7.075195&z=7&msid=100686598902148055059.0004637343be49550140b .

It is not likely that all MLAs would come from the same town as you are combining ridings that have roughly equal populations so one riding should not be able to dominate over another. Under the current system of FPTP the urban areas of a riding tend to dominate over the rural areas such that the rural areas often feel overshadowed by the bigger population centers. Under BC-STV this would be lessened, if anything, since there would be considerably more competition and the candidates would be more actively seeking the rural votes in addition to the urban votes. In the proposed Northeast district, there would be two MLAs elected and likely one would come from Peace River North and one from Peace River South but of course there is not guarantee of this. Personally, I would prefer a better quality candidate an extra hour’s drive away than a closer local candidate who does not represent me well. However, if having a closer local candidate is more important to others then they would have to make sure that they got out to vote. People who think it is important to not have an extra hour’s drive to see their MLA should be asking all the candidates if they are willing to set up an office in both of the major centers. If that is important to the majority of people than the candidate who shows a willingness to have this greater presence will be the one that gets elected.