Vancouver Sun / Canwest reporter Jonathan Fowlie spoke with me earlier Tuesday prior to CTV news reports that Emerson had decided to throw in the towel. In that interview I'd said "I just can't imagine him running here in this riding", but added that we'd be ready, in any local riding, to remind voters how little Stephen Harper and David Emerson respected the value of our votes in the last election.

Fowlie's article is now on-line and includes a quote from John Reynolds:

Late Tuesday night, former Conservative MP John Reynolds said he had heard rumours Emerson had decided to retire, but said he had not yet spoken to Emerson and could not confirm the news.

"It's a tough decision for him to make. I know it's been very tough on his family, what people have put them through in the past few years. I can understand fully if he made the decision not to run," Reynolds said. "That's a tough decision on his part, but that's life. I understand why people need to leave after a while."

If Reynolds is hearing rumours you can bet they come from the source or the top.

Bone to pick: "people" didn't put Emerson through anything. Whatever Emerson received was his to bear and far from sufficient payment for his complicity in attacking the democratic process. Emerson and Harper demonstrated that the value of a Canadian ballot is zero in their eyes.

Voters in this election ought to think twice before making their mark.