Far too often, political parties place candidates in electoral districts where the candidates do not reside. This is called “parachuting.”
Parachutes are usually star candidates. The parties want them in the legislatures: they might be a celebrity who can get votes, great communicators, or have a recognized life experience.
Parachutes are approved by the party leadership. When the party leadership wants a parachute in a certain electoral district, the local party association usually acquiesces to that demand. In essence, this internal party election is not open.
Parachutes are often put into “safe” seats to better their chances of winning the election.
With the parachute in the legislature, supposedly the party benefits from whatever attributes the parachute brings. Parachutes seem to be more valuable than those party members who have worked their way up in the party ranks.
Here’s the drawback. The parachute has had little history with the people in the electoral district. So it is questionable whether the parachute can represent the district well. And some voters and party members feel betrayed with this outsider.
Usually the disaffected voters and members are small in numbers. So the parachute still gets elected to the legislature. This then comes back to my theory that the first loyalty of any elected politician is the party, not the people. But that would be for another article.
When I was in politics, there were laws in Canada that addressed the parachuting issue. But to get around those laws, the parachute rents an apartment (flat) in the electoral district — and thus has a residence. But the parachute hardly ever uses it. I often wondered who paid for that apartment.
Solving the parachute issue
I solved the parachute issue with my alternative democracy Tiered Democratic Governance (TDG).
In the TDG, electoral districts will be about 200 voters who live close to each other. And the voters will be voting one of their own into governance. To be eligible to vote and be voted for, primary residence is a must. If only neighbors can be elected, then there can be no parachutes.
If a neighborhood is mostly working-poor people, that neighborhood will likely be sending a working-poor neighbor into TDG governance.
If a neighborhood is mostly of a certain ethnicity or religion (let’s say Chinese or Muslim), the neighborhood will likely send a neighbor of that group into TDG governance.
If a neighborhood is rural in nature, the neighborhood will likely send a rural person into TDG governance.
I could go on, but I think most readers will see my point. The TDG is going to bring in many more perspectives into TDG governance. People who never had much say in politics will now have some say.
Let me say this in a different way. All TDG representatives will have had a history with the voters who first elected them into the TDG. There will be no outsiders.
Conclusion
Parachuting? It ain’t gonna happen in the TDG.
And the wealthy people, whose current political influence is beyond their numbers, are going to have to deal more with people who aren’t so wealthy in the TDG.
Published on Medium 2025
