Column: Joe Morinville

We got a provincial election on and as far as I can see it, the only ones what really are excited about it is the candidates that’s running to be MLAs. The people don’t seem to be too concerned.

1 – I’d be excited to run for MLA. The job pays $127,000 a year and that’s after the 5% pay cut they give themselves in February. And if you’re a Cabinet Minister, you make about $191,000 a year. That’s pretty big money. If you don’t believe me, ask a teacher or a nurse or the gal serving you coffee at Timmy’s in the morning.

2 – The new Wildrose leader Brian Jean has been in the news with his little cardboard arrow pointing at stuff Jim Prentice apparently made more expensive with his budget. I don’t know how well the Wildrose is going to do this time, but I think they ought to keep the arrow after the election so they can show what way they’re going when they’re crossing the floor.

3- But according to the polls the Wildrose is doing great in rural Alberta, and the NDP are popping up orange
signs all over Edmonton, and quite a few here, at least in Sunshine. The National Post calls it the left / right squeeze and that the PCs ought to be worried about it. I call it the people-are-not-happy-with-the-budget squeeze.

4 – Of course, polls don’t amount to anything you can take to the bank. They’re like Internet petitions — it counts
what people is thinking at the time, and makes for an interesting headline or two, but it gets as much traction as bald summer tires in a foot-and-a-half of mud. The only thing what counts is how many bums get put in seats when the real votes are counted.

5 – Seen on the Morinville News Facebook page how Kubinec has her campaign office in the telephone store and Turner has his campaign office next to Chef’s Pizza. Guess Kubinec is in the right place to phone up and order a pizza, and Turner is in the right place to whip one up for her. Since Van Dijken don’t have an office here, there’s probably little chance he’d deliver it.

6 – The way I see it is you got more than 250 bums looking to sit in only 87 seats. Some of the bums have sat in the same seat for a long time, and some bums want to take it from them. The only way that’ll happen is if we all get off our bums May 5 and vote.

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