Voters speak in the stretch

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This article was published 03/10/2011 (5277 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SUNDAY marked one of the final days of the provincial election campaign, and leaders were out in full force to make a last-ditch effort to woo voters.

A Free Press reporter and photographer visited the Unicity shopping complex to see whether voters had made up their minds and what they thought of the provincial leaders. The mall is located in the riding of Assiniboia, where the Tories hope former Olympic speedskater Susan Auch could unseat NDP incumbent and Healthy Living Minister Jim Rondeau. While some voters had already made up their minds, they said the election — just like the riding of Assiniboia — may be too close to call.

Several households are torn about whether to vote NDP or Conservative, and with not much time left, one man said marking his vote will be a gameday decision.

 Ruben Johnson

 Home riding: Charleswood

 Voting for: Conservatives

 Reasons: Johnson said he grew up in Dugald, where Conservatism has “stuck with him” all these years. He said he likes PC Leader Hugh Mc-Fadyen and has made up his mind which box he’ll tick off on Tuesday.

 “There’s only one man I’m going to vote for. I’ve been a Conservative for 100 years,” he said.

 Olga Kandia and Jerry Baluta

 Home riding: Kildonan

 Voting for: NDP/undecided

 Reasons: Kandia said their household is divided between the NDP and the Conservatives. Kandia is a nurse, and said she’ll vote for the NDP because of their position on health care, noting she hasn’t forgotten picketing during the health-care layoffs in the 1990s.

Baluta said he hasn’t made up his mind, and thinks the Conservatives haven’t made a compelling enough argument for change. He said he would have liked to hear more about the economy and government overspending.

 “The Conservatives haven’t done enough to force change,” Baluta said.

 “I don’t think they’ve hit a home run.”

 Scott Cords

 Home riding: Assiniboia

 Voting for: Conservatives

 Reasons: Cords said he’s tired of the NDP. However, he’s still unsure whether or not they’ll clinch a win on election day.

 “It’s going to be a toss-up,” he said.

 Danny Yeo

Home riding: Assiniboia

 Voting for: Undecided

 Reasons: Yeo said he’s been an NDP supporter in the past, but can’t make up his mind this time around. Yeo said he likes Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen better than Premier Greg Selinger, but also likes his current MLA Jim Rondeau. He plans to make up his mind on Tuesday when he walks into the voting station.

 “I like Gary (Doer),” he said. “It’s too bad we lost him.”

 Joe Charban

 Home riding: St. James

 Voting for: Conservatives

 Reasons: Charban said he’s tired of the NDP. However, Charban doesn’t have many nice words to say about any of the provincial leaders.

 “You put all of them together and you haven’t got a good one out of the whole bunch,” he said. “They’re all painted with the same brush as far as I’m concerned.”