The Independent | Part I: Campaign Highlights
Best Doorknocking Moment:
Kirk: doorknocking spiel
Person: Well, I work for Rob. I wish you the best of luck, though. Well, you know what I mean.
Kirk: Best of luck for second place?
Person: Yeah, something like that.
Worst Doorknocking Moment
Kirk: My name is Kirk Schmidt and I am the independent candidate
Person: (laughter)
(This happened a few times. Good thing I’m logically motivated instead of emotionally)
Moment of Zen
Caller: Hello. Is this Mrs. Schmidt?
Robyn: Yes.
Caller: I’m calling on behalf of [one of my opponents]. Have you been thinking about this election and about who you might vote for?
Robyn: I’m going to vote for my husband - Kirk Schmidt - he’s the independent candidate
Caller: He’s running for who?
Robyn: Well he’s an independent. He’s not with a party.
Caller: And you can vote for him?
Favourite Feedback
“As feedback, I commend you for your ability to state what you stand for without having to resort to disparaging comments about your opponents. What you may lack in experience, you certainly make up for in diplomacy. I also appreciate that you do not fabricate answers to the issues you do not fully understand — more than one person said to me after last week’s conversation that they respected you for admitting that there were a few things you hadn’t considered, but that you were willing to hear their position and suggested solutions.”
I also received a very nice compliment about my ability to do speeches from a person affiliated with Toastmasters, just after the UofC debate.
Technology Moment
Over the period of the election, I used a Garmin Forerunner 405 to track where I doorknocked. It’s a GPS watch, so it tracked my every movement, gave me times, etc. I was able to use it to make sure I evenly covered the riding doorknocking-wise, and to see what kind of pace I was keeping in between houses.
Donation from Farthest Away
Afghanistan.
Clap, clap, clap
I think it’s important to mention a few things here at the end. First off, having run a provincial campaign before (and seeing places where one candidate will literally put their sign an inch in front of anothers, effectively blocking the others’), I was very impressed with the level of respect for one another’s campaigns in the federal arean. The campaign felt a bit like matches between Kasparov and Karpov - friendly enemies. We debated policy, but never each others’ resolve to bring better representation to the riding.
It’s also important to note that from day 1, I felt the handling of the riding was in good hands. The RO, Murray, was very focussed on making sure the rules were followed and that everyone was treated equally. You can’t ask for more from an RO.
And a big thanks to everyone who put up signs, donated, and gave words of encouragement. A campaign is no walk-in-the-park, and it all helped.
5 Responses to “The Independent | Part I: Campaign Highlights”
Was the afghanistan donation TJ?
Cheers,
P
who said there was just one?
You stole my comment, Patrick!
So was it TJ? or was TJ one of them?
That information will be available on Elections Canada’s database after we submit our financial info ;)
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