Now that the provincial election is over, I don't mind saying how I voted - and why.

First, I voted "no" to electoral reform. Not only was it an inane concept, but I suspect the general population did not understand the question.

What, exactly, did the term "first past the post" mean in any circles outside horse racing?

And how, exactly, could a busy electorate interpret "mixed member proportional representation" when it's unlikely that more than a few had encountered the term prior to now?

A "yes" vote on the referendum would not only have created more splinter parties, but it would have been a largely uninformed one.

During the campaign, I asked a few people of high intellect if they understood the referendum. Surprisingly few of them did. So I voted against it.

I have no Party alliance, but here's something that has remained in my mind for years: Major General Bruce Matthews (2nd Canadian Div. Commander in the liberation of the Netherlands), was in civilian life the sort of person one might expect to be Conservative. He was president of the Liberal party at one time. He had become a friend (in another era of my life), and I asked him why he had chosen a left-leaning party.

His response, from a person who was a CBE, DSO, Legion of Honour, Croix de Guerre with Palm, Grand 1 Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau, was that he wanted to support "the two-party system of government." I personally believe we should work within two mainline parties, and abolish the "splinters."

A few years ago, several NDP people told me they didn't really want to form a government, either provincially or federally. All they wanted was to see a minority government - in which the NDP held the balance of power. That way, they could control the legislature without taking blame for anything.

A "yes" vote on the referendum would have created more splinters in the House of Commons than you could shake a stick at. Whose policies would we have been subjected to?

And let me voice a warning. Back when Daylight Savings Time was becoming the vogue, the people of Alberta voted against it. But the governments of the time wanted it. So the province held about five referenda on the issue before it got what it wanted.

It wouldn't surprise me to see the MMPR question back in 2011.

I voted for Betsy Hall, even though I do not especially like Premier Dalton McGuinty. The guy gave me bad vibes when I met him at Monora Park several years ago. This might be unfair, but first impressions are lasting ones. The "McGuinty government," as the provincial one has taken to describing itself - perhaps to bolster the premier's ego - has done a few good things but there's a limit to the number of times we should have to stare at his photo.

That said, I had several reasons for supporting Betsy despite the fact that I had misgivings about her leader, and was well acquainted with all three other candidates.

I wanted to do my bit to demonstrate that this riding should not be taken for granted by anyone. We had just come through those years when David Tilson stepped down to make way for Ernie Eves, and then we had Mr. Eves leaving politics - probably to make way for John Tory in this traditionally Tory (PC variety) riding.

Mr. Eves gets credit for partially funding Orangeville's southern arterial road. Was he truthful about where it was to be built?

In fact, the Dufferin County Road 109, through and to the south of Orangeville, and through both Orangeville and Caledon was made possible by the previous Mike Harris PCs, who enacted legislation under which one municipality could build a roadway in an adjoining one.

But look at the original maps. In the announcement of the bypass, 109 joined directly with Highway 9 at Highway 10, and was not ostensibly intended to be where it is today.

At the time, the only explanation I could get from anyone about the road's location was that it looked better on the map than the reality would have.

They might as well have shown it extended to where it will eventually go - to Highway 9 near Kennedy Road.

Things are not always what they appear to be, and spin doctors have a way of making things look better than they really are. So I do not subscribe to the Toronto Sun's characterization of the current government as "Fiberals." The first-term government of Dalton McGuinty, in fairness, said precisely what previous ones said when they took over from another party - that the financial picture was not as bright as the previous one said.

In supporting Betsy, I had no criticism of the other candidates. They were all capable and worthy in their own way. I am certain that Sylvia Jones will be a capable representative of the riding.