Cabinet-Making
Calgarians Diane Ablonczy and Jim Prentice continue at the Cabinet table, with Prentice taking the lead on the Environment. This makes me happy (although I would have like to see Ablonczy promoted)
For those who may have been unaware, I decided to join the Conservative Party of Canada. They have always aligned closest to me policy-wise (although, as you know, I don’t always agree with all of the policies) - I feel I can invoke the most positive change to Canada through this party. I am, as one of the new buzz-words says, a Green Tory.
Sorry to those centre-left friends of mine who don’t like this idea so much ;)
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…
Read the rest of this post »
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.