The Final Countdown

In just over 12 hours, I will be boarding an airplane to take me back to Alberta for the most important election in 14 years for my home province.

I'm going for two reasons, both having to do with friendship:

1. I going to help with the final push for my friend Jim Dinning.

You've heard me rant about why i've supported Dinning for months now and you know why I remain unshakeably convinced that he is the best choice to lead Alberta, so i'll spare the repetition. Suffice to say, I would have felt very uneasy about staying away from such an important race for the future of a province and a party that I hold very dear... the opportunity to come to make another contribution and to witness a piece of Alberta history was one I simply could not pass up.

2. I am coming to celebrate with my friends in the PC Party of Alberta, regardless of who they've backed and regardless of who wins.

I have mentioned here before that I consider PC Alberta to be a family to me... when you've spent as much time working for and traveling across Alberta on its behalf, its hard not to. I'm coming to Edmonton to celebrate and, perhaps, to help bury some hatchets (and, regardless of who wins, you KNOW there'll be a lot of that to be done). A wise friend of mine pointed out that the last time we tried to separate blue tories and red tories, we ended up with 13 years of corrupt Liberal government. I say that not as a lecture to any one particular campaign, because its an important message for EVERYONE in our party. I have been through enough political ups and downs, upheavals, defections and rejections to know that they're not much fun and not at all constructive in the long run.

On Sunday morning, the sun will still rise and the world will still turn. To believe otherwise would be detrimental to our party, our province, and, most importantly, our friendships.

See y'all in Edmonton!



PS. Will asked an important question that I hadn't at all considered. For the record, I am NOT coming home to try and vote. I have stated clearly, frequently, and to a number of people that I am uneligible to vote because I do not currently maintain an Alberta address and have no Alberta ID. You'll see me at Dinning HQ and at the party, but not behind a ballot box.