Nominations almost complete
On Saturday March 21, Sex Party candidates and supporters were on the streets of Vancouver getting nominations papers signed for the three candidates running there. This was great fun and hard work.
Media attended and caught some of the action.
Thanks to the many Vancouverites who supported our right to appear on the ballot. Several said they planned to vote for a mainstream party but wanted to see issues like sex education in the schools and the rights of sex workers placed on the political agenda.
We still have a few more signatures to get. If you want to help on our next street drive, please get in touch. The after-party for these events are fantastic. The more the merrier.
Below are photos of some of the gang in action.
Dietrich and Scarlett on the Drive...
Maura and John sign up more...
Today the article excerpted below appeared on the CTV television website:
The link to the full story is here:
B.C. politics have always been a bit peculiar. After all, it's the province that shortly after Confederation elected a premier who had changed his name to Amor De Cosmos, a loose Latin translation of "lover of the universe."
"Amor's" eccentricity wasn't an impediment for votes back then, and it likely wouldn't be a drawback for him today. He would probably find a home among the more than two dozen registered parties that could end up fielding candidates in B.C.'s upcoming election. The mushrooming of political parties in recent years appears to be drawing on a wider populist tradition that's now fostering an array of parties outside the mainstream.
The parties fall across the social and political spectrum, many of them being concerned about little more than a single issue, if that.
........
Not your typical sex party
While Broughton believes British Columbians are working too long, too hard, and too often, John Ince of the Sex Party of B.C. says what they really need is better sex and more of it. Ince tells CTV.ca his party is hoping to help voters get over their hang-ups.
The organization was started by sexually adventurous British Columbians who just didn't get a good vibe from mainstream politics, he says.
"That would be swingers (and) kinksters who realized there was a lot of social prejudice against them. There was no site for advocating changes in government policies regarding sexuality," Ince says.
A lawyer by training and an entrepreneur, Ince says his party shouldn't be dismissed just because of its name. Its platform, he says, is serious. The Sex Party of B.C. wants to legalize prostitution, end discrimination against businesses that sell sex toys, and improve sex education in schools.
Ince doesn't mind that the current sex education focus is on harm reduction - saying that's a good thing. But what about the fun part of sex, he asks. He says that's like teaching home economics by talking only about safety issues rather than recipes and food.
He points out that the Sex Party is not a spoof party. The candidates - three so far - are serious about the democratic process and want to highlight an important societal issue.
"By running in these elections we can actually educate the other candidates (and voters) about these issues ... We see the electoral process as much more important to democracy than just electing members to the assembly," Ince says.
"But, no, we will never win a riding."
Norman Ruff has kept a close eye on B.C. politics for decades. Now a professor emeritus in the University of Victoria's political science department, Ruff says he's seen a proliferation of fringe and single-issue parties pop up in recent elections.