How Penticton residents are changing the political landscape in town | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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How Penticton residents are changing the political landscape in town

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PENTICTON - The political movers and shakers that started TimeForChangePenticton have introduced a more advanced campaign to support electoral candidates in the upcoming municipal election.

The idea to start Vision Penticton was brewed up at a meet and greet held by TimeForChange organizers on Monday. Vision Penticton is like the “older sibling” to the original group, and both will serve the community as political forums.

Organizer Jennifer Taylor calls Vision Penticton an “electoral organization, which means we can publicly endorse and fund any candidate(s) that we feel would the best for our city.”

The goal is to be a properly organized, formal group, unlike TimeForChange, which serves as a platform for communication between residents, primarily. The latter better serves the younger population that is still learning about the electoral process and looking for an outlet to discuss changes they want to see in the community, whereas Vision Penticton will provide the action the older members want to see, Taylor said.

“The TimeForChange discussion group needs to stay focused on issues that are important to youth and the older, more informed voter needs to allow that group to have their own conversation,” Taylor said.

As for Vision Penticton, members will create a general mandate and outline specific goals they want to achieve as an organization. For example, they will pose hard-hitting questions to each candidate running in the fall election, and make videos of each candidate available online for the entire comment to see.

Even though the group will pick the candidates they believe to be the best fit for Penticton council, they aren’t trying to sway voters’ decisions.

“We are in no means telling anyone who to vote for, we are simply putting our support behind candidates who we feel will do the best job so they stand a fighting change at the polls,” Taylor wrote in a Facebook post.

And once the elections are over? Taylor said the group will remain as a “watchdog” for the City Hall and to ensure elected officials stay true to their campaign promises and truly do what is best for the community.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Meaghan Archer at marcher@infotelnews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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