Cast a ballot, any ballot

It’s going to be an exciting autumn with two, maybe three, elections.

The October 18 municipal elections are already gathering steam, with candidates coming forth early to get their campaigns in motion.

There is the balloting scheduled in the United States in November, with Republican John McCain and Democrat Barak Obama the likely candidates for their respective parties. Though most of us here don’t have a vote in that contest, I don’t think any political being in these parts could say we don’t have a horse in that race - whatever party one supports.

History and proximity have made most of us stand up and take notice of presidential elections in the republic to the south. In fact, very few of us don’t have family, friends or neighbours who will be voting.

When I was a kid listening to my very political grandfather, I believed we had a Queen, a prime minister and a president. In fact, when the British had a strong PM - like Churchill or Macmillan - I had thought of us as having two prime ministers.

Mind you, until recent decades, Commonwealth citizens residing in Canada could vote in some elections here – a practice too soon abandoned, I think, at least for municipal balloting.

The municipal elections in Kings County – in the municipality, Kentville, Wolfville and Berwick – are flaring up, with mayoralty candidates already declared in Kentville and Wolfville – the incumbents, their respective worships Dave Corkum and Bob Stead, respectively. The current municipal warden, Fred Whalen, is reoffering, but the wardenship itself depends on a vote among successful council candidates come November.

If that isn’t enough to get the political heart pumping, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal leader Stephane Dion are making tough-guy sounds about a general election. They are joined by NDP leader Jack Layton and Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, whose parties could well be decimated – every 10th incumbent spared – in a federal election. At this point, it looks like the country is fixin’ to have a good ol’ crotch-kicking, head-butting, eye-gouging Tory-Grit dust up.

I remember the last Kings-Hants vote, where, despite the quality of the NDP candidate and the fact the provincial New Democrats are very strong here; the only real attention – and the resulting ballots - were squarely focused on incumbent Scott Brison and Tory Dr. Bob Mullan, in that order.

Now there are four federal byelections set to go: three in Guelph, Ontario and two in Quebec for Sept. 8, and another, in Toronto’s Don Valley, Sept. 22. Some say the prime minister may figure, why not hold votes in all 308 riding and be done with it?

Now that would create an embarrassment of excitement for political folk and followers.