My (non-existent) political party affiliation(s)

The burning question for the last couple of weeks seems to be what my political affiliation(s) is/are.

I have heard the following rumours:
- Laura is centre and leans to the right;
- Laura is a hard core Conservative;
- Laura supports and has worked for the Green party;
- Laura is centre and leans to the left; and
- Laura is a die hard Liberal.

I've yet to hear where I stand with the NDP.

Somehow, it's been construed that I either nominated or seconded the nomination for Mat Siscoe to stand as the Ontario PC candidate. Neither is true.

What I did do - and what I said during the first radio interview I did - was support his nomination. This means that I purchased a $10 membership for the Ontario Conservative Party, listened to Mat Siscoe and Bruce Timms give speeches about why they were the best person for the job, and then I went and marked a little "x" in a little box on a piece of paper.

My rationale?

If we are going to have a Conservative MPP following the next provincial election, I think Mat is the best person to fill that role.

How did I decide that? He and I were both candidates (different wards) in the 2010 municipal election and had reason to speak frequently enough, and I've been following his (and the rest of the councillors') actions/behaviour on Council, and I was impressed enough to pay $10 to mark an "x" in a box.

Does this mean that I think he's the best person of all of the candidates who will run provincially to be our MPP? Not necessarily. We'll have to wait until election time for me to make that decision. I simply felt that he was the best of the Conservatives who were running to be candidates.

My voting record - provincial and federal - for the last 20 years has run the gamut. I have voted Green, Liberal, NDP, and Conservative. You see, I'm hyper critical of our political system and our politicians, so I have a difficult time aligning myself with a particular party. A very difficult time.

Instead, I weigh all of the options, and I vote for the candidate and (by extension, of course) party who I think is best suited at that time to address the issues we are facing provincially or nationally. It's the way that I've always voted, and it's the way that I will continue to vote.

With respect to my upcoming votes at Council, I am sure that council watchers will see quickly that I will vote sometimes with those who identify as conservative, other times with those who identify as liberal, and still other times with those who - like me - have no clear affiliation.

I will vote on each issue based on what I believe to be best for the city.