Pardon the Disruption
I’m changing some things around, so the weblog might be buggy for a bit…
Edit - I’m going to try out this grey theme for a bit. A might put a bit of colour in, but I really like the simplicity of the theme. Let me know what you think.
The Independent | Part II - Independent Campaigns
For Part II, I’m going to talk about running an independent campaign in general. It’ll be kind of like a basic how-to guide for those who choose none-of-the-above…
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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.
First Week Back
For 6 weeks I was on a leave of absence from work to do some sort of project (I worked occasionally from home, mainly to keep my emails at less than 1000 when I came back), and by the end of the campaign, part of me was very glad to get back to routine.
Unfortunately, change is always prevalent, and two of my closest work friends - nay, my close confidantes - went off to go have babies. Of course I’m ecstatic for them, but I will dearly miss them over the next year…
I honestly think there’s been more change in my life in the last 2 weeks than there’s been cumulatively in the last 4 years.
The campaign is still not completely over. We still have a post-mortem to do, and then start planning for the next… project… I’m still actively meeting with advisers to decide my fate. Politics is definitely an evil game of chess, where choosing the wrong move at the beginning can mean a catastrophic loss somewhere in mid-game. Actually, it’s kind of like playing the Queen’s Gambit - great if you know what you’re doing, bad if you screw up one move…