As of today, the "writ has dropped" and the province of British Columbia is in election mode.
This is democracy, folks, and you're part of it.
This is when you get to make the decisions that really count because the decisions you make in the coming month will determine who makes the decisions that steer your community and your province, economically and socially, for the next four years.
This is an important election. They all are. Whatever the pollsters may try to tell you, the results are not a foregone conclusion.
It may sound trite when the politicians say it (and it is usually said by those who don't like what the polls say at any given moment), but the only poll that counts is the one that takes place on election day - the one that's counted after the ballot boxes are opened by bona fide Elections B.C. personnel.
Some people consider this whole democracy thing an unwelcome chore, others will ignore it altogether - an annoyance that will go away in a few weeks.
Then they'll complain about "poor leadership" and how they don't really have any control.
But we're going to do our best to give you as much information as we can about the candidates and the issues that affect you directly.
We'll use Twitter and Facebook, Layar and our website at www.burn abynow.com, and of course, these printed pages to convey your candidates' responses to election issues as they arise.
Just ask the millions of people on this planet who would die - literally - for the democracy so many of us take for granted.
They would tell you to pay attention, study your options and make an informed decision on May 14.
The decision really is yours.
