15 April 2007

Canvassing Begins!

We only have 150-odd leaflets remaining out of 6500 in Earlsdon, so I've started to canvass streets in the ward down by the A45 and Kenilworth Road-- Cannon Close, Stareton Close and Gregory Avenue, so far.

A woman said on Gregory that it had been the first time in 20 years of living there that a local politician had knocked her door and asked for her vote.

It's puzzling why there is no canvassing going on, both last year and this year. If local politicians don't want an apathetic public, they have to press the flesh and present themselves on the doorstep. The public should expect all five candidates in Earlsdon to be canvassing them at some time in the next fortnight, not one candidate calling on them every two decades.

It's also a mystery to me why Coventry doesn't have a culture of having all candidates meetings, in Earlsdon at least. About a month ago, I sent out a letter asking primary schools, pubs with large back rooms and churches to consider hosting one, but no word as of yet.

Our candidate in Cheylesmore, Bryn Tittle, had an idea the other day for weekly surgeries throughout the year by Green councillors. I can't agree more. We need to increase the contact and availability by local politicians to break down this idea between "politics" and what matters to people in everyday life. That's one reason why I've been maintaining this blog for the last nine months.

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