An astounding 59 per cent of NOTLers voted in the hotly contested 2018 municipal election, a much higher percentage engagement rate than in any of the municipalities that surround us. Our 2022 turnout was also strong. Let’s stay involved, and help to shape the future of our special area of Canada. Please vote.
I am out and about a lot, and have again been overwhelmed by the number of electioneering lawn signs that have sprouted up as this campaign has evolved. Mostly smaller sized signs, even at key strategic corners. And the attention to geometric detail has again been admirable. Almost every sign has been installed at a right angle to the lot line — for maximum viewing exposure and effect.
Blue-and-green signs, red-and-white signs, signs of many colours, printed in basic fonts for ease of reading. Quick, passing-by reading.
Great, but I feel a bit sorry for local realtors, landscapers, painters and other folks who traditionally use lawn signs to market their services. They get almost totally blocked out by the election signs. I guess they just have to grin and bear it for a few weeks every four years.
A few years ago, I actually read our local NOTL signage bylaws. Like most public sector documents, it was not easy to understand. And many pages long. My main interest was to learn how many days ahead of the actual election day lawn signs were permitted to be installed.
Since then, I have set a personal limit of two weeks. No, this is not fair, but that’s just too bad.
A few weeks ago, I was able to attend one of the well-organized and very well-attended candidate forums, and hats off to the NOTLRA for their efforts. Although I have to ask again, “Why weren’t the forums held at our magnificent NOTL Community Centre?”
Obviously, I am missing something. (It’s not the first time.)
Rambling off now in a different direction, please allow me to formally ask: when the acronym NOTL joined our local lexicon? GOLF NOTL and NOTL BOTL may be catchy and cool and save ink and space, but are these acronyms widely recognized?
We must resist the temptation to take things to the lowest common denominator, but just this morning after guiding some visitors around town, a well-travelled and quite posh gentleman from England asked, “It’s probably obvious, but what does the NOTL on your cap mean?”
I was courteous and patient as I responded, but for many years I have sort of struggled with NOTL versus Niagara-on-the-Lake. Around our world, including the words lake or sea provides a certain je ne sais quoi.
Sorry about this seemingly silly discussion, and I know that “on-the-Lake” was added to Niagara several decades ago to lessen postal system confusion with Niagara Falls.
Am I the only one in town who even thinks about this?
Back to political lawn signs as we finish up for the week, and a quick and clever story from my Grade 9 year at Royal York Secondary School in Etobicoke. 1960, I think. A very cool Grade 11 student named Digby Sale was running to be student council president.
He started his big speech to about 600 of us by saying, “First of all I would like to thank all the local real-estate agents for putting up lawn signs to support me. Get it? ‘For Sale.'”
Isn’t it weird the things you can remember after 66 years?
Now please, get out and vote. As my wise mom from Cochrane said so often, “If you don’t get involved, you will have exactly no right to complain.”
Be kind.
