In my last post, I referred to a campaign of ideas and visions for the province of Alberta (and how the whole edstelmach.ca debacle might get in the way of that for some people).
Well the signs are becoming increasingly clear that the aforementioned campaign will soon be upon us.
The Edmonton Journal has a good piece today about the preparations underway for the election. Its an election that I look forward to. As much as the left-wing opposition want to harp on about how Ed Stelmach has no personality or other nonsense, I look forward to a campaign with the Premier demonstrating how his grasp of the issues facing Alberta blows his competition right out of the water.
There will, of course, be outsiders trying to insert themselves into this campaign. One of the loudest is Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier. Don Braid outlines part of Bronconnier's plan to pressure the provincial government into funding a number of ventures for his city.
I'll admit that i'm not a big fan of Mayor Dave. As a former and future Calgarian, however, I like a lot of what I read in Braid's article. I think that the Mayor will find support for the plans outlined in the report drafted by an impressive array of Calgarians.
I also think that the kind of vision that the Mayor is promoting will be met with support from some of the great new candidates running under the PC banner in Calgary, particularily Alison Redford, Jennifer Diakiw, and Arthur Kent. These are all people who believe in a positive vision for Calgary's future as a leading urban centre in Canada. They are also running to replace ineffective Liberals who wouldn't understand a positive vision if it bit them in the rear.
In Calgary, just as in every other city, town and county in Alberta, people are readying for an important election that will chart the course for Alberta's future.
I know i'm ready for it.
Showing posts with label Arthur Kent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arthur Kent. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The albertatory drops in
On my way back to the left coast, I made an impromptu stop in Calgary. Surely, it doesn't take much to bring me back to a city I so dearly love, but I dropped in for a very important reason.
Seven years ago at the PC AGM in Calgary, I met a young and ambitious lawyer (only a few years my senior) who had recently moved to the Stampede City from Regina. We became friends very quickly and have shared many good times as active conservatives over the years. We have been keenly aware of each other's ambitions of public service and, naturally, very supportive of them.
I am speaking of my friend Jonathan Denis who was contesting the PC Alberta nomination in Calgary Egmont. I know first hand how nerve-wracking the nomination process can be for a candidate and I wanted to be there for support and, hopefully, to celebrate.
As has been reported, Craig Chandler was the victor of the Egmont nomination. The results were, out of a total of 1670 ballots cast:
Craig Chandler - 945
Jonathan Denis - 485
Rick Smith - 227
Jonathan and his campaign team worked tirelessly in their cause and have every reason to be proud of their efforts. They spoke of a positive and inclusive vision and managed to attract a wide array of new members to our party. And, although I will not share the percentage, I was amazed at the number of people who honoured their committment to vote for Jonathan. If I had had the turnout of ID'd supporters that he did, I would be a Member of Parliament.
Much like my friend Mr. Denis, I will take the high road and congratulate Mr. Chandler on his victory. Speculation of what his candidacy will mean for our party is something that I will stay away from for the time being.
In the meantime, I tip my hat and say bravo to Jonathan for the supurb fight he put up.
Briefly in closing, I was very pleased with the results of the other nominations I was watching over the past week. Bill Donahue, Kyle Fawcett, and Arthur Kent will all get the chance to carry the PC torch in the next election. To them I also extend my sincere congratulations and look forward to watching their respective campaigns take shape.
More on the upcoming nominations tomorrow... stay tuned!
Seven years ago at the PC AGM in Calgary, I met a young and ambitious lawyer (only a few years my senior) who had recently moved to the Stampede City from Regina. We became friends very quickly and have shared many good times as active conservatives over the years. We have been keenly aware of each other's ambitions of public service and, naturally, very supportive of them.
I am speaking of my friend Jonathan Denis who was contesting the PC Alberta nomination in Calgary Egmont. I know first hand how nerve-wracking the nomination process can be for a candidate and I wanted to be there for support and, hopefully, to celebrate.
As has been reported, Craig Chandler was the victor of the Egmont nomination. The results were, out of a total of 1670 ballots cast:
Craig Chandler - 945
Jonathan Denis - 485
Rick Smith - 227
Jonathan and his campaign team worked tirelessly in their cause and have every reason to be proud of their efforts. They spoke of a positive and inclusive vision and managed to attract a wide array of new members to our party. And, although I will not share the percentage, I was amazed at the number of people who honoured their committment to vote for Jonathan. If I had had the turnout of ID'd supporters that he did, I would be a Member of Parliament.
Much like my friend Mr. Denis, I will take the high road and congratulate Mr. Chandler on his victory. Speculation of what his candidacy will mean for our party is something that I will stay away from for the time being.
In the meantime, I tip my hat and say bravo to Jonathan for the supurb fight he put up.
Briefly in closing, I was very pleased with the results of the other nominations I was watching over the past week. Bill Donahue, Kyle Fawcett, and Arthur Kent will all get the chance to carry the PC torch in the next election. To them I also extend my sincere congratulations and look forward to watching their respective campaigns take shape.
More on the upcoming nominations tomorrow... stay tuned!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
On a roll
Its nice when a plan comes together, isn't it?
After a bit of a rough start, it appears as though Premier Ed Stelmach and his government are really on a roll.
Former Premier Peter Lougheed has come out with a ringing endorsement of the new royalty regime. If there is anyone who understands the difficulties of crafting a plan that takes into account the public good, the importance of a healthy economy, and the fluctuations of political instability, its Lougheed. A feather in the Premier's cap if ever there was one.
Speculation is running rampant that the Premier is going to call a snap election. I don't buy it for two reasons:
First, the party (although in a far better position than any of the others in Alberta) is still not yet in position for an election. There are still a number of ridings who have yet to nominate their top-notch candidates (more on that in a minute). Plus, the government is ready to go for the fall sitting of the Legislature which starts next week.
Second, even though Ed Stelmach has been Premier for less than a year, has he given anyone the impression that he's the kind of guy who makes decisions like this on the fly? I thought not.
Speaking of excellent candidates, internationally-renowed journalist Arthur Kent has announced that he will be seeking the PC nomination in Calgary-Currie. Should he win, he will be taking on a considerably less accomplished journalist in the form of one-term Liberal MLA Dave Taylor. The process of how Kent's candidacy came to be, along with some other interesting snippets, can be found in Don Braid's column. If I were Taylor, i'd have the QR77 HR department ready on speed dial.
Changing track for a moment, I spoke in a previous post of what seemed to be a deliberate effort to discredit the Federal Liberals on the part of the Alberta Liberals. We over on "team blue" aren't embarassed by our federal cousins. We, in fact, embrace them and are proud to share a great many volunteers and supporters. That's why it always nice to see our friends in Ottawa backing us up. I don't hear any Liberal MPs or "Shadow Ministers" coming to back up ole Tafty... maybe they should give this guy a call for support, sounds like he's got some time on his hands.
The Alberta-liberals?-no-liberals-here-Liberal presence in the blogosphere has become decidedly bitter over the last few days. Not surprisingly, since their policy and communications somehow managed to get outsmarted by the likes of Brian Mason. I wonder if we'll start to see them sink into their tired old lines about Albertans being just plain stupid if they vote for (insert PC Leader here)? The way things are going, i'd bank on it.
Speaking of bitter, how can we forget Graham Thomson? In his latest column, he takes his usual swipes at big oil (which, admittedly, they had coming this week). He then pieces together what he's pretty sure is a PC strategy to paint the Premier as dull-but-trustworthy. He paints a back-and-forth account of how Albertans might be reacting to the royalty report, but you can tell which side he's on...remember, this is the guy who once suggested that Kevin Taft was an excellent public speaker.
Graham closes by doing his buddy Taft's job for him, yakking on an on about the Premier's ad campaign in Alberta newspapers. A campaign which tells Albertans that he delivered on a promise he made and informs them of where to go for more information or to provide their feedback on the royalty decision. The thing that really gets me is that he suggests that its something that PC Alberta would have produced, "right down to the blue and yellow colour scheme". I realize that Thomson prefers red, but where has been been since he got off the bus from Ontario 20 years ago? The PC party colours are blue and bright orange, have been since 1971. The official colours of Alberta are blue and yellow, the ones in the aforementioned ad. Get with the program, buddy.
To close on a good note, three cheers to our cousins in Ottawa for another round of tax relief! Its nice to have people getting things done in Ottawa so we can focus on doing the same at home.
After a bit of a rough start, it appears as though Premier Ed Stelmach and his government are really on a roll.
Former Premier Peter Lougheed has come out with a ringing endorsement of the new royalty regime. If there is anyone who understands the difficulties of crafting a plan that takes into account the public good, the importance of a healthy economy, and the fluctuations of political instability, its Lougheed. A feather in the Premier's cap if ever there was one.
Speculation is running rampant that the Premier is going to call a snap election. I don't buy it for two reasons:
First, the party (although in a far better position than any of the others in Alberta) is still not yet in position for an election. There are still a number of ridings who have yet to nominate their top-notch candidates (more on that in a minute). Plus, the government is ready to go for the fall sitting of the Legislature which starts next week.
Second, even though Ed Stelmach has been Premier for less than a year, has he given anyone the impression that he's the kind of guy who makes decisions like this on the fly? I thought not.
Speaking of excellent candidates, internationally-renowed journalist Arthur Kent has announced that he will be seeking the PC nomination in Calgary-Currie. Should he win, he will be taking on a considerably less accomplished journalist in the form of one-term Liberal MLA Dave Taylor. The process of how Kent's candidacy came to be, along with some other interesting snippets, can be found in Don Braid's column. If I were Taylor, i'd have the QR77 HR department ready on speed dial.
Changing track for a moment, I spoke in a previous post of what seemed to be a deliberate effort to discredit the Federal Liberals on the part of the Alberta Liberals. We over on "team blue" aren't embarassed by our federal cousins. We, in fact, embrace them and are proud to share a great many volunteers and supporters. That's why it always nice to see our friends in Ottawa backing us up. I don't hear any Liberal MPs or "Shadow Ministers" coming to back up ole Tafty... maybe they should give this guy a call for support, sounds like he's got some time on his hands.
The Alberta-liberals?-no-liberals-here-Liberal presence in the blogosphere has become decidedly bitter over the last few days. Not surprisingly, since their policy and communications somehow managed to get outsmarted by the likes of Brian Mason. I wonder if we'll start to see them sink into their tired old lines about Albertans being just plain stupid if they vote for (insert PC Leader here)? The way things are going, i'd bank on it.
Speaking of bitter, how can we forget Graham Thomson? In his latest column, he takes his usual swipes at big oil (which, admittedly, they had coming this week). He then pieces together what he's pretty sure is a PC strategy to paint the Premier as dull-but-trustworthy. He paints a back-and-forth account of how Albertans might be reacting to the royalty report, but you can tell which side he's on...remember, this is the guy who once suggested that Kevin Taft was an excellent public speaker.
Graham closes by doing his buddy Taft's job for him, yakking on an on about the Premier's ad campaign in Alberta newspapers. A campaign which tells Albertans that he delivered on a promise he made and informs them of where to go for more information or to provide their feedback on the royalty decision. The thing that really gets me is that he suggests that its something that PC Alberta would have produced, "right down to the blue and yellow colour scheme". I realize that Thomson prefers red, but where has been been since he got off the bus from Ontario 20 years ago? The PC party colours are blue and bright orange, have been since 1971. The official colours of Alberta are blue and yellow, the ones in the aforementioned ad. Get with the program, buddy.
To close on a good note, three cheers to our cousins in Ottawa for another round of tax relief! Its nice to have people getting things done in Ottawa so we can focus on doing the same at home.
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