Many county residents may not be aware of it, but several local candidates on the losing end of the Oct. 27 municipal election have gone into hiding.
It reminds us of a similar situation three years ago. Some of us in the Advertiser News room reacted with shock and dismay in October 2011 when incumbent Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson took the unusual step of sequestering himself in a private room and refusing to speak with reporters after losing that election to current MPP Randy Pettapiece. It seemed like months before anyone heard a word from Wilkinson – and he never did return our calls.
To this day we still talk about it, joking that those who go into hiding after an election defeat have “pulled a Wilkinson.”
But as a couple of local candidates proved recently, it appears the move, despite being completely disrespectful and unprofessional, is more prevalent than we originally thought.
Two and a half weeks after the election, two losing candidates in particular still have not returned repeated calls and emails (and we’re not holding our breath, expecting the phone to ring anytime soon).
We understand an election defeat can be very painful and hard to accept – in a way, incumbents have lost part of their identity, in addition to their office – but there is no shame in losing.
There is however, also no excuse for hiding out, avoiding the press and even shirking one’s duties as a current councillor (the new council does not take over until December).
That is very shameful indeed.
