LETTERS Open letter to mayor and councillors,

We all deplore the exceptionally low voter turnout in Richmond. One reason given by voters is that they don’t know the candidates and their platforms.

The city prepares an excellent Candidate Profile document which should be considered essential for voter education. The problem is that this document arrives in the mail as unaddressed advertising material along with other ads and is frequently discarded.

In the last election, I did not receive this document in the mail and the five other residents I consulted on my street, who checked carefully for it, did not receive it either Another half dozen voters told me they didn’t receive it when I asked them.

The answer is to include the Candidate Profile document with the Voting Location card that is individually addressed to each voter by placing both in an individually addressed envelope. This may also require an earlier deadline for candidates to submit their profile.

It’s worth trying everything we can think of to increase voter participation.

Thank you for your consideration

John Roston RICHMOND

FREE WORKSHOPS,