Some Local Campaign 2011 Musings.

Yesterday around noon I dropped off my last load of lawn signs officially ending, for myself at least, the 2011 election campaign. During the past 40 days I have run the gamut of emotions from depressing lows to exhilarating highs, with the added bonus of running myself to near exhaustion at times in the process, and now that I have some free time I thought I would put together a post on some of my election 2011 thoughts and experiences from the local level. From the time the writ was dropped until the last sign was removed, it was 40 days that I will not soon forget.

 The early days consisted mostly of helping to get the local campaign office up and running, which in our case consisted of turning a rather large empty space into the hub of the local campaign, and getting the signs out. Desks and furniture had to be brought in, temporary walls/dividers had to be fashioned, equipment such as computers, phones, copiers, shredders and even TVs had to be located brought in and hooked up, and the volunteers organized. Aside from some early grunt work of hauling things around and some minor 'construction' work, the set up of the office was capably handled by many others; I worked more on getting the signs out.

When the writ was dropped on the last weekend of March there was 3 feet of snow in my yard, there were huge windrows along every road, and the ground frozen solid, not the best situation to be putting out election signs. The signs were being stored in a shed on a rural property in the riding and a Bobcat had to be used to clear a path through the snow just to get access. But we got them out and we got them up. Within 2 days all major and minor intersections in the riding had signs placed in all directions, but because the ground was still frozen they had to be placed in the deep snow and within a couple of weeks every single sign had to be re-visited and put solidly into the ground.

More on signs: There were plenty of stories during the campaign on sign vandalism etc and while there were some places more effected than others, I think it is fair to say that EVERY candidate had to face some type of sign vandalism.  If you have ever dealt with signs in a campaign you can sort of tell who is going after your signage and why; when you see a bunch of signs knocked over or pulled out ( including those from your opponent) it is a good guess that it is just kids who did so as they walked by. It is when only your teams signs that get hit while the oppositions remain standing, or when your signs have be damaged or made non reusable ( no details but sign people know what I am talking about) that the political motive questions start being asked. Why people do it is beyond me, it is just stupid not mention illegal, but no matter the reasons when they knock 'em down, someone has to go out there and stand 'em back up.  BTW there were more than a few times that I stood up NDP signs that were knocked down along side our own ( You're welcome Nadine).

Blogging: One of the regrets that I do have was not doing enough blogging during the campaign. You would think that blogging would be a no brainer as it is a political bloggers 'busy season', but the time and my energy level were just not there. I have to look at my drafts but I can wager that I have at least 10 blog entries sitting there in various stages of completion that I started but did not finish/publish for various reasons. I had a great series that I had planned on Ignatieff, aka Mr. Democracy, for the final week of the campaign but to be honest I felt that it was a waste of time and towards the end I started feeling sorry for the guy and didn't want to pile on. On the positive side I did follow closely much of the wonderful work my fellow Blogging Tories did during the campaign and when I had the time I did quite a bit of Tweeting (a quick tweet is much faster than writing a blog post).  Also my long running issue with Scott Reid and the CBC was finally resolved thanks to the Ombudsman, but even there what should have been a few days worth of good material only made it into a single blog post.


Door-Knocking: While I did quite a few other things during the course of the campaign, it was door-knocking that took up the most of my time and provided some of the most enjoyable moments along with some of the most depressing moments of the 2011 campaign. It is my favorite election activity as I enjoy going out and knocking on doors meeting people face to face getting instant feedback, and one of the more memorable trips occurred in the middle of a spring snow storm when I met up in Millwoods with the candidate and blogged about here. The trips into Edmonton-Strathcona though were memorable for much different reasons. The first trips I made into E-S were great; lots of positive feedback and when we left there were as many Hastman lawn signs out as there were Duncan signs. But those first trips were in polls on the edge of the riding and as we got closer to the University area things became much different. Most of people I met at the door were polite enough, although having a door slammed in your face even just once tends to make for a bad day, but it was clear that most of those met were Duncan supporters and in these polls the Duncan signs were everywhere. On one particular street there were 15 homes, 9 of which had Linda Duncan signs on the lawn, and this was not an anomaly as it was near impossible to go to more than 5-6 homes anywhere in these polls and not encounter an Orange NDP sign. Needless to say that after a couple of days of that sort of thing that ones confidence goes down somewhat and you become unsure if you are having any impact at all.


Election night: When it was all over and the votes counted we had won in Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont, lost in Edmonton Strathcona, consumed an over abundance of chicken wings, and for the first time ever the CPC had enough seats to form a majority government, but all I could really think about was that we didn't have to do this again for another 4 1/2 years and that in 2015 my daughter will be eligible to vote for the very first time.

It was over but for the clean up, which would begin bright and early Tuesday morning.


The campaign started when the government fell on March 25 on a Liberal motion of non confidence ( Insert joke of your choice here) the political situation for the Conservatives was not great, the weather was cold and miserable, and there was still 3 ft of snow on my front lawn. 40 days later and we now have a majority government, the sun is shining, the snow gone, my grass is starting to turn green and flowers are starting to come up.

It was worth all of the work.

Neither rain nor snow......

Out on the campaign trail last evening in Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont with incumbent Mike Lake and a few volunteers as they door knocked their way through a nasty spring snow storm. Although the heavy wet snow made for some tough going at times, it was clear at the doors that the effort was appreciated.

If you live in the Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont area and have even a couple of hours of free time to volunteer give the campaign office a call @ 780-466-0195, and if you live elsewhere please give your local CPC candidates campaign office a call. Election campaigns are won locally and on the ground. Any help that you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Liberal Party campaign 2011 signs out pre writ in Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont

The writ hasn't even dropped yet and Michael Butler,the former NDP candidate and now the current Liberal Candidate for Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont (sort of a one man coalition) , already has election signs up.

It is almost as if he is in a hurry to lose,

and with cheesy slogans like that he and his current party certainly will.



At least wait until the writ is dropped Michael; you are looking a little desperate by jumping the gun.





Your thoughts on the signs and their almost laughable tag lines?




Some background on Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont (courtesy of the best political information web site in Canada, Pundits Guide)

Are the Liberals targeting my riding?

Being a resident in the EDA of Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont I often read in various places about how this riding is/should be targeted by the Liberals as a possible place to pick up a seat in the next federal election. I have read this on blogs, in the newspaper, and during the last election campaign I saw various talking heads on TV suggest the same.

But why us?

To be honest I have no idea other than the misguided thinking that because this riding was once held by David Kilgour that with a little work it could go Liberal again in the near future. I say misguided because this is based on nothing other than the popularity of one David Kilgour, who the last time I checked was not running, and who even if he was going to run, was not even a Liberal caucus member at the time of his retirement so it would not be for the Libs.

There are a couple of things that most people are forgetting about or are taking for granted here about why this riding ever went Liberal or would go that way again. The first is that when Mr. Kilgour was first elected in 1979 he ran under the banner of the Progressive Conservative Party; had he ran as a Liberal he would have probably lost and had a very short political career. He was kicked out of the PC's in October of 1990 by then PM Brian Mulroney over his objections to the GST, but in the 11 years previously he had already proven himself to the community as a good strong local representative so when he crossed over to the Liberals it was not the party that the good people of his riding were voting for but the man himself. The second thing is that our current MP, Mike Lake, has continued on with the tradition of his predecessor by being not only accessible but by working hard for the people of EMB both here and in Ottawa. This is what got Mr. Kilgour re-elected and this is what will get Mike Lake re-elected when the time comes. Sure I may be biased in my beliefs, but it is plain to see to anyone paying attention just how hard Mike works for this riding, as this recent Edmonton Journal article points out just one aspect of the good job Mike is doing.


So to all of the Liberals out there who continue to believe that EMB can be won in the next election; I say please keep it up. Keep sending those heavy hitters such as Bob Rae and Carolyn Bennett here to drum up support. Keep pouring all of the resources and money that you can into our riding, and keep on believing that the Liberal brand is enough for you to be victorious in EMB. Because the more you concentrate and spend on us, the less that you will have available for ridings where you actually might have a shot at winning.

Bring it on!


Reprint of Journal article written by Alexandra Zabjek. July 2, 2009

At ceremonies across the country Wednesday, Canada's newest citizens celebrated the nation's birthday by pledging to accept the rights and responsibilities some of their neighbours may well take for granted.

At a citizenship ceremony at the legislature, MP Mike Lake was on hand, paying special attention not only to the newcomers' collective words, but to individual voices.

For while they recited their oaths in unison and in a common language, their pronunciations were enriched with the tones of India, Africa and other far-off lands.

"It's in English, but you've got all of these different accents," said Lake, who has been the Conservative MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont since 2006.

"And you can pick out a whole bunch of different (ones), even if it's the same volume. It's quite emotional. These are people who are specifically choosing to become citizens of Canada."

In a riding where immigrants and refugees make up almost 30 per cent of the population, Lake, perhaps more than many MPs, has had to tackle head-on the issues newcomers face once they've taken their citizenship certificates home.

He has developed a strong reputation for helping newcomers and taking extra steps for those most in need.

"I'm really proud of our country and I always have been," says Lake, whose own family history in Canada stretches back so far he can't pinpoint exactly when his ancestors arrived here. "And I want people's experiences with Canada to be a good experience, and what we do in our office plays a part in people's experiences of our country."

Lake admits the sheer number of newcomers in his riding has meant he's had to develop expertise in navigating the immigration system. It's been a steep learning curve, and sometimes a delicate balancing act to determine exactly which cases deserve extraordinary attention.

"Any time you have a system that big, there are going to be times when the system is not going to function the way it should," he says.

"We have, in Canada, the most generous immigration system in the world. Understandably, there's a reason for all of the checks and balances we have, but it's important for me, as an MP, to balance the limited resources I have with the ability to recognize when someone is being affected by a blockage in the system that's really negatively affecting their family."

Take the case of Joseph Largao and Gbassay Konneh. The Edmonton couple was granted refugee status in 2005, years after they had arrived at a refugee camp for amputees in Sierra Leone.

The couple struggled for years to bring their young son, Quenty, to Canada, after a series of mistakes and a tangled bureaucracy had left him in the care of an aunt in the West African country.

The couple had been relying on advice from volunteers at the small Newfoundland church that sponsored them. When Lake heard the Mill Wood couple's story, he invited them to a meeting.

"(The church)tried their very best, but it was very hard," Largao says. "When I met Mike, it was very exciting. These are people in authority, and they can really help develop the country and the province."

The boy was granted a visitor's visa and was reunited with his family in February.

Lake credits his staff for working "tremendously hard" to contact the right officials to help the family's case. The MP goes without a legislative assistant in Ottawa so he can employ three people at his busy Edmonton constituency office.

"You look at a situation, you have to measure it and say, 'I have to get involved in this one. We have to see what we can do,' " he says.

Immigrants often retain close ties to their home countries, and it can be difficult for them to navigate the bureaucracy that governs how they might bring loved ones to Canada for a visit or to stay.

The most common request Lake receives is from Canadians wanting temporary visas for relatives to visit for a special occasion. Lake and his staff help people focus on questions that immigration officers need answered. In exceptional circumstances, he can help ensure officials look at an application in a timely manner.

For Varinder Grewal, an immigrant from India, Lake helped navigate the process of bringing a Punjabi-speaking live-in caregiver to Canada to help his 28-year-old daughter, who has a mental disability.

Though it took more than a year for the caregiver to arrive in Canada, Grewal was grateful.

"Whatever power he had, with whatever limits he had, he helped me," says Grewal. "My daughter is very happy. It's been especially good for my wife, because she's been taking care of her almost all of her life."

Lake knew before his election that immigration issues have long been a top concern in the riding. His predecessor, longtime MP David Kilgour, had a reputation for helping immigrants and refugees.

"You're judged by newcomer communities on how hard you try," says Kilgour, now retired from federal politics.

For Lake, working with immigrant communities has opened him to conversations he thinks all Canadians should have--where has your neighbour come from? It doesn't matter if that neighbour's family arrived in Canada in the last year or the last century, Lake says. He admits that before becoming an MP, he didn't necessarily realize just how many stories existed in his community.

"We have a real opportunity to travel the world without leaving your neighbourhood," he says. "What builds communities is getting to know each other. And that's a real key to the unique nature of Mill Woods and the unique opportunities that come with living there." © Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Mike Lake, Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Industry

Mike Lake, MP for Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont, today was sworn in as Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Industry.

Congratulations Mike. It is not that easy to be recognized when you are an Alberta Conservative MP and this is really quite the accomplishment, and if I may say so, a well deserved one.

Late night post election thoughts.

Call Ripley's : The electoral record of the Green Party of Canada now sits at negative 1 after having lost the seat that they never won in the first place.

Dion is in trouble as leader, but his party is going to be in it even worse. A blogging goldmine I tells ya.

Garth Turner gets tossed in a big way. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Some other notable Liberal losses: Dan Boudria, Karen Redman, Omar Alghabra, Robert Thibault, Paul Zed, Ken Boshcoff.

Cherniak is leaving blogging to go behind the scenes with the LPC.

Dion is not a big fan of CTV. "The last one I want to speak first is CTV. Understand that?" Note how tough guy Dion gives CTV reporter Roger Smith a little push after Dion's security has already made the point.

PM Harper in his speech tonight commented that he has been elected 4 times in the last 6 years. It will take some large stones on the part of the 3 leaders of the opposition parties to bring this government down anytime soon.

Locally Mike Lake was re elected in Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont with over 60% of the vote. Meanwhile in the parking lot of his campaign office some mysterious woman was taking pictures of people leaving the party ???

Rahim Jaffer losses to Linda Duncan of the NDP in Edmonton. Someone representing a party that wants to shut down the oil sands. Hey, Edmonton Strathcona voters; any guesses as to where the funding for that world class hospital and large university campus in the center of your riding comes from?

Tomorrow we start taking down the signs.

The Green Party owes Jennifer Wright some money

Earlier tonight at an all candidates radio/cable tv debate local Green Party candidate for Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont, David Allan Hrushka, tonight called the GP policy on the environment said

Since Jennifer Wright is the rightful owner of the Green Shift name, and the Liberal Party of Canada has, only through threats of legal action, come to a financial agreement to license this name, shouldn't the Green Party have to pay up for using it as well?

I feel an invoice coming your way soon Liz.

Oh and where in the Green Party platform can I find out more about those "municipal registered retirement savings plans" that your candidate mentioned tonight?

Awesome job Greens, awesome.

All Politics is Local: Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont

All politics is local and it is the work of volunteers and the grass roots that win elections. With that in mind I will be profiling local ridings over the course of the next few days.

If you live in any of these ridings and have even a few free hours over the next few weeks to help out with the campaign or even to request a lawn sign, please take note of the information and give your local campaign office a call. They all will appreciate the help and every little bit no matter how small can help keep your riding and our government Conservative.

Today it is Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont which is currently represented by Mike Lake the man who took back the riding after18 years of Liberal representation in January 2006 election.






Campaign Office: 5351-75 Street Edmonton Phone #: 780-463-5638


Website: http://www.mikelake.ca/

Upcoming events: Open House every Friday throughout the election at Mike's campaign office between 7:00pm - 9:00pm

All candidates forum Beaumont High school Wednesday Oct 1st at 7:00 PM

Shaw/Ched Forum Tuesday Oct 7th time TBA.




Riding Info: MAP. Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont runs from the Whitemud in the north to Highway 625 in the south and the QEII in the west to Meridian Street in the east. An area of about 175 square km with a population of just over 75,000 and with over 79,000 electors. It also has the honour of being my own riding (just to see if you are paying attention) and I will be going into more specific posts later on into the election.

Electoral history of EMB Prior history as Edm Southeast


The election is only a few weeks away and your help is needed. Please call 780-463-5638 and be part of the team that helps return Mike and a strong Conservative Government to Ottawa and keeps the riding, and Alberta, a Liberal free zone.

Rae Days in Edmonton Canceled

Rae days in Edmonton canceled; local area LPC candidate Indira Saroya doesn't bother to tell anyone.

Background: Bob Rae was supposed to be in Edmonton today to take part in three events to benefit local area Liberals. The "Bearpit with Bob", and the evening "BBQ with Bob" were both postponed due to personal reasons and are tentatively being rescheduled for sometime in September according to information posted on the LPC Alberta wing web site. The third event, a meet and greet with Bob Rae and Indira Saroya, the LPC nominated candidate for Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont , was also canceled but it appears that Saroya did little, if anything, to inform the public about the change.

The story: Well I was at it again today, I guess that I did not get my fill this week of Liberal smoke and mirrors, and decided I would go and hear what Bob Rae had to say since he was going to be almost literally in my own backyard. I may truly be a gluten for punishment.

The event was scheduled to take place 1:30 - 3:00pm at a local community centre very close to my home and I arrived just before the scheduled 1:30 start time only to find a few people milling aimlessly around the parking lot with no Bob Rae in sight. The hall was locked, the lights were off, and there was no notice posted anywhere on the status of the event. As a few more people started showing up, word got around that the evening BBQ may have been canceled, but nobody had read or heard anything about the status of the event that we were all there to attend.
(note: as of this writing Saroya's web site has yet to be updated informing people of the change.) It was just after 2:00pm when a young lady arrived and asked if she was in the correct location for the Rae/Saroya event; when she found out that indeed this was at the correct location, out came the cellphone and she called the candidate herself at home to get an explanation.

Yes, that is correct. Saroya was at home doing who knows what rather than bothering to come to the hall to post up a notice, check if anyone had shown up, or even update her website telling the public about the changes. It is almost as if she is taking a page from Dion's arrogant point men for the tax formally known as green shift as her cue for how to do things. For the record Saroya did manage to show up just as I was leaving; which was well past the scheduled start time and it appears that it was only because that young lady had called her at home as she looked rushed and was not dressed as if she was planning on meeting with the public.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is your candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont.

She is not going to get my vote, that is a given, but if the comment made by an older gentleman just before he drove off is any indication, she may not be getting his as well. His comment: "The least they could have done was stick a damn piece of paper on the door."

Farhan Chak & Stephane Dion in happier times

Ezra's recent post on the inner workings of the Alberta Human Rights Commission has brought back some memories of Farhan Chak, the former candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont. So as we stroll down memory lane I thought it might be nice to repost this picture of Farhan Chak with Stephane Dion. Ah good times, good times.

15 years of Liberal domination ended for Edmonton Millwoods

Congratulations to Carl Benito for his win in Edmonton Millwoods over incumbent Liberal MLA Weslyn Mather. Carl worked very hard and seemed to be everywhere in the riding during the campaign and in the end his hard work paid off as Millwoods has elected their first PC MLA in 15 years.

As a quick side note, Carl Benito has again pledged to give his salary this year to a scholarship program to help area youths. That is approx $75,000 out of his own pocket.

Well done Mr. Benito.


And Weslyn, if the way that you treated myself with a total lack of response to emails sent to both of your MLA offices was representative of the way you dealt with your other constituents; the loss was well deserved.

Private Members Bill C-423

Here is another reason why I continue to support my Member of Parliament, Mike Lake. His private members Bill C-423, an Act to amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

In a nut shell Bill C-423 will use a carrot by adding a ‘referral to substance abuse treatment’ to the current list of extrajudicial measures available to police officers when dealing with young persons, particularly first-time offenders accused of committing non-violent offenses, and a stick because if a young person referred to a treatment program does not complete it, the police officer may initiate judicial proceedings.

In my opinion Mikes bill is well balanced change to the current act that will not only give the police more options when dealing with young offenders who may have substance abuse issues, but will give the young offender an opportunity to help themselves.

So far the Bill has received support from members from all sides of the House, and currently is awaiting its turn before the Justice Commitee.

You can read some of the debate on Bill C-423 here.

Nicolas Ruszkowski's first order of business

For Nicolas Ruszkowski, who has been brought on to help improve Stephane Dion's image, this should be his first order of business.

No more pictures like this one.

Stephane Dion with disgraced former Liberal candidate Farhan Chak

Farhan Chak steps aside

As just reported on local news, Farhan Chak ( I will leave out the Dr. part) has stepped down as the Liberal candidate in Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont.

The Globe has the story here. Steve Janke has it here, with some worthwhile commentary.

Bloggers do make a difference.

Some History : http://stevejanke.com/archives/223406.php

http://stevejanke.com/archives/224367.php

http://stevejanke.com/archives/224485.php


Al

EDA Update: Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont

On Nov 2, current EMB MP Mike Lake received news that he had been acclaimed as the Conservative Party of Canada's candidate in Edmonton - Mill Woods - Beaumont for the next Federal Election.

For those not familiar with the situation, Mike was expecting a challenge from Tim Uppal for the nomination, but that did not materialize as Tim Uppal has decided to try his luck right next door in the EDA of Edmonton - Sherwood Park, where current MP Ken Epp has announced he will not run in the next election. More info here.

And a final update to this story: Tim eventually went on to win in Edm- Sherwood Park in a tight race, and congratulations are due. Well played Mr.Uppal, you have proven yourself to be good politician and will do well in Ottawa as the MP for Edm-Sherwood Park.

EDA News:Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont

The nomination meeting for Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont will be held on November 22nd 2006. All paper work must be filed by midnight Nov 1st, and party memberships must be purchased before Nov 1st to be eligible to vote at the meeting.

For those not familiar with the EMB situation; the current MP for EMB MP Mike Lake is expecting a challenge from the yet undeclared Tim Uppal.


I am proud to state that I am supporting Mike Lake in the nomination and if anyone is interested in supporting Mike, they can purchase a membership by calling 465-(edit) before the deadline at the end of the month.

More to follow as the information comes in.

I will bring this up to the top tomorrow, but the latest is that Tim Uppal will NOT be making a challenge in EMB. He has his eyes set on another prize next door in Edmonton-Sherwood park where current MP Ken Epp is planning to retire.

Going back to work in Ottawa

Today, Mike Lake our MP for Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont heads back to Ottawa to represent the good people of the riding who elected him by more than 17,000 votes over the nearest challenger in the January 23, 2006 election.

Meanwhile back in Edmonton; Tim Uppal appears to be working in the shadows on his bid to challenge Mike for the CPC nomination in the riding.


The optics on this do not look too good from where I am sitting.

Nomination update - Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont

Still nothing official as of yet, as no dates have been set by the party brass with regards to the potential nomination race in Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont (EMB), but that doesn't mean that all is quiet.

EMB MP Mike Lake was on Dave Rutherford yesterday and was speaking about the nomination race. You can catch it in the audio vault here (August 30th, 10am) If your local Corus station carries Rutherford, the segment should be in their audio vault; just adjust the time accordingly to time zone changes. FYI: The audio vault only holds programs for 30 days.

An article in the Hill Times dealing with races can be found here, with the second half of the article dealing with EMB.

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My initial thoughts on the situation are here in a post I made on the 17th, and as of today my opinion really hasn't changed as I still believe that you should not be challenging an incumbent MP without just cause or reason.

I will be blogging much more on the EMB situation and some other nomination related issues as time permits in the near future. Until then I again offer up some questions to any potential challengers to Mike Lake:

Why are you running for a position to represent your party and the people of EMB against the very person the party nominated earlier and already has been elected by the good people of EMB as their MP in Ottawa?

Who really benefits from your running as the CPC candidate for EMB?

And what would these benefits be?

----------------------------------------------------

If anyone in Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont is interested in purchasing a party membership to help keep our current MP Mike Lake as the candidate for the CPC please call 465-6415.

Trouble in Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont?

I was having a few quiet moments in my 'basement bunker' earlier today, and as usual the TV was on in the background tuned to CTV Newsnet for the latest. David Akin came on and talked about some of the upcoming CPC nomination contests and my attention shifted to what he was saying. He started out talking about Garth Turner and the challenge he is facing in his riding as well as a few others that may be challenged for their opinion on the ssm issue. Nothing really unexpected as this has been discussed before and I was aware of the situations, but then he dropped something of a bombshell that I was not aware of.

Mike Lake the sitting MP from my riding, Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont, would likely face a challenge for the riding. My initial thought was a nice simple WTF? I did a little checking and while the date of the nomination meeting has yet to be set and therefore the potential challengers have yet to declare their intentions, David Akin might be correct in his story that Mike could be facing a challenger. He also might be correct in his categorization of these challengers being "sore losers".

I am having a hard time with the concept of ousting a sitting MP without a damn good reason. With this in mind, why Mike Lake? Has he done something out right wrong, unethical, or so damaging politically that he might not be re-elected in the riding? Does he have ideas that run contrary to party policy, or spoken out against these same ideals? Has he not done his job as MP for the people of Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont, or represent their views and concerns in Parliament?

From where I sit I can find no fault with the rookie MP that would justify his removal as the CPC candidate in this riding. There was that Oiler playoff game that he attended with the PM that caused a little rustle in the trees of a few in the political blogging community, but I highly doubt that this non story would be held against him by the voters or within the party.

So if it isn't his performance so far as both an CPC member or MP, what could it be? I honestly have no idea and would greatly encourage those considering running against Mike to let me know why they are taking this course, and answer the following questions:

First off, why are you running for a position to represent your party and the people of EMB against the very person the party nominated earlier and already has been elected by the good people of EMB as their representative?

Who really benefits from your running for the CPC candidate for EMB? The party, the riding, or yourself?

And how or what are these benefits?



I await your answers.




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Update: Aug 19.

Still waiting.

Lots going on with other MP nominations as well and if you are looking for for a great resource please visit Blue Blogging Soapbox . Lots more drama to come no doubt.

Mike Lake MP for Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont

Congratulations Mike!!! All that hard work has paid off (including the 6:30 AM trips outside in the snow to wave at the passing cars)

I am sure you will do us all proud in Ottawa.