By Carolyn Grant, Black Press
Another candidate emerged in Columbia River-Revelstoke last week. Duncan MacLeod of Kimberley will run an an independent candidate.
MacLeod, although he has a background in political science and was involved in politics in his younger days, is not by any definition a 'typical politician.'
He said he got an inside look at politics as a student delegate to the federal Liberal leadership contest that saw Jean Chretien elected as party leader. The whole thing left him disillusioned, cynical and discouraged.
"I stayed away for 25 years," he said.
Now, MacLeod is running as an independent to bring forward the idea that things can be done differently. He calls political parties the most anti-democratic institutions in the Canadian democracy.
"I want to focus on democratic reform," he said. "It can be done differently. We need campaign finance reform, election reform and institutional reform.
"Political parties don't serve the people. They are a plutocracy, almost an aristocracy."
MacLeod is a teacher who runs the Rocky Mountain International Student Program. He has lived and worked across Canada and abroad.
He said he plans to run on nothing.
"I don't want donations, there will be no expenses except gas to get to the debates. I want show people it can be done differently," he said.
"I want to talk about the issues that need to be addressed. There are fundamental issues with democracy. I want to see real electoral reform, not what the Liberals were proposing. Those straw man attempts and machinations were designed to distract."
MacLeod is not a fan of proportional representation because it still relies on political parties.
"I have no problem with people identifying similarities and running as a slate, but the existence of political parties is a big problem in our democracy."
He joins five other candidates in the riding: Samson Boyer (Green), Doug Clovechok (BC Liberal), Justin Hooles (independent), Rylan Kashuba (Libertarian) and Gerry Taft (NDP).