Estevan Constituency Green Party candidate Sigfredo Gonzalez was philosophical about the results that were coming in on the tote board early Monday night that indicated another overwhelming victory for Sask. Party candidate Doreen Eagles.
Gonzalez, who has carried the Green Party banner in the past four provincial campaigns, continued the struggle to garner even three per cent of the votes cast, but said he was not discouraged by the polling
numbers.
"The people here don't want to change the course. I hear on the streets all the time a lot of people don't feel Doreen is doing all she can for Estevan but they keep electing her. So where's the truth? That's hard to understand. So we'll just do the best we can. When I'm finished and it's all over, I want to be able to say I at least tried to do something positive," he said in an interview conducted around 9:30 Monday night.
"We need money to compete. I needed time to compete. That's the reality of politics in Canada. You need to get on TV and need to advertise. I don't do this for power, I do it for the ideals and thinking I can do something that would benefit everyone."
Gonzalez, who originally hails from El Salvador, said he was a member of a guerilla movement in that country, protesting corrupt governments, so running in an election in a pure democratic country like Canada was so different.
"It's a different pace, but really, the same thing happens. The rich get richer, but I still believe if you want change you have to get involved and you have to not just say what you think you have to say to get elected, but speak the truth," Gonzalez added.
"I see the Sask. Party doing things they promised they would not do, like the nuclear industry. There are a lot of things the population doesn't know. But one thing I know, I could never vote for the Sask. Party because I just don't follow their philosophy and the NDP, well, they seem to be going away from the principals of Tommy Douglas and what he did. For our party, it doesn't mean we can change the world, we know this isn't about power, it's about making changes that need to be made."
Gonzalez said he had already talked with Green Party leader Victor Lau and they spoke about needing to "campaign for four years, not just four weeks.
"It's kind of difficult with our economic situation as a party. We'll have to change some tactics for the next time and see what direction we can take. Right now everything looks good in the province, so the people didn't want change. But sooner or later the people will get the point we're trying to make and get out of dreamland. But for now, the Sask. Party asked the people for power and the democratic system gave it to them. They also said they were going to listen to the people back when they first started, and I don't know if they have, or if they will now. They have four more years of doing what they pretty well want to do. We've given them a free ride, so let's see what they do with it."
