Why I'm Supporting Ric McIver in the Calgary Hays PC Nomination

  As a longtime follower of provincial politics and a resident of Calgary Hays, I am excited about the upcoming nomination contest to see who will be the next PC candidate for our area.  Party nomination campaigns are an important example where local residents can really be part of the grassroots democratic process and have their say on who their party candidate will be in the next election.

 Due to the provincial electoral boundary changes, Calgary Hays will be split into two separate riding's once the writ is dropped for the next provincial election.  The "new" Calgary Hays riding will consist of the following neighborhoods: Douglasdale, Douglasglen, Quarry Park, McKenzie Towne and Mckenzie Lake.   Due to the fact that this is a new electoral boundary, the PCAA will be holding a candidate nomination contest to determine who will be the next representative for the PC party in the provincial election.

 I have been on the Calgary Hays PCAA board since 2008 and these nomination battles are always tough on the organization, but necessary for transparency and democracy.  It is hard to see a group of people split on who they would like to support, but that is a necessary part of the democratic process.

Declared Candidates

Art Johnston

 Art Johnston has been the MLA for this area since 2004. 

 Earlier this spring, Art decided to run for the nomination of the other newly created riding of Calgary Southeast, but narrowly lost that contest to newcomer Rick Fraser.  ( See post here... http://www.calgaryrants.com/2011/05/calgary-mla-art-johnson-loses-pc.html )

Ric McIver

Ric had represented this area as the City of Calgary Ward 12 Alderman for nine years.  He is a longtime member and volunteer for the PCAA.




Here are some of my thoughts on the nomination race and why I am supporting Ric McIver.....





The nomination vote will take place at the Deerfoot Inn on Monday, December 5, 2011 from 4-8PM.

To be eligible to vote, you must be:

• A Canadian citizen, at least 16 Years of age of older.
• Ordinarily a resident of Calgary Hays. (Douglasdale, Douglasglen, Quarry Park, McKenzie Towne and McKenzie Lake.)
• A valid member of the PCAA.  ( 2011 Memberships are available at the door.)
• Be sure to bring two pieces of ID, to confirm residence in the area.
  

If you would like to volunteer with Ric or buy a membership to support him, please contact Ric here.

Best of luck to all of the candidates!  This will be an interesting race to watch.

More Problems In The Wildrose Nomination Process?

  I had a good chuckle on Twitter over the past few days while watching some Wildrose supporters go bonkers over yet another riding nomination fiasco.  Over the past year, the media has reported that  some angry WRP supporters have taken issue with a few local riding association nominations, including Calgary McCall, Stettler, Little Bow and Cochrane-Banff.  The latest controversy appears to be coming from Calgary Hays Candidate, Dennis Young.

  On Tuesday, the Tweets were fast and furious from Dennis's supporters, crying foul that he was abruptly removed as a qualified candidate, prompting some Wildrose supporters to question the party's nomination process.  Mr. Young ( and campaign worker Craig Chandler) where visibly upset about this development as they felt they had no clear understanding about why this was happening.

 Here is a copy of the letter that Dennis sent to the Wildrose Executive committee, which he posted on Facebook.

HAND DELIVERED & BY FAX

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Mr. Shane Saskiw,
Executive Director, Wildrose Party
408, 919 Centre Street NW
Calgary, Alberta T2E 2P6

Dear Mr. Saskiw,

I was somewhat startled to receive your letter of October 3rd advising me that I was disqualified from the nomination race in Calgary-Hays.

Firstly, there was no reason for the disqualification mentioned in the letter.

Also, I was not advised that my candidacy for the nomination was in question, nor was I given an opportunity to defend myself against whatever accusations may have been brought against me.

Further, I had had my interview with the Local Candidate Nominating Committee roughly six months ago, submitted my paperwork and my nomination fee. If I was going to be disqualified, I would have expected to be informed of it at that time. Since that time I have spent over $30,000, dropped two separate pieces of literature to every home and have door knocked 25% of the constituency resulting in many members for the party that I have yet to hand in. Out of the current members in Calgary-Hays 75% of them were signed up by my campaign. In addition to the memberships sold my team has also received full information including names, address, postal codes, phone numbers and even email addresses from hundreds more who wish to keep in contact.

Since I was not informed in your letter for the reason of my disqualification we contacted former leadership candidate Mark Dyrholm for advice. Mr. Dyrholm contacted Danielle Smith in regards to the situation. After some phone calls, she told us that the problem related to my military career: Specifically when I was a private soldier. I was once put into the stockade for fighting. This, however, stretches credulity: I was not charged under the Criminal Code and do not have a criminal record. In my nomination form I went above and beyond to tell you my entire life story, I guess I should not have been so detailed.

Such incidents amongst soldiers (who truly are fighting men) are foreseen in the National Defence Act, and are specifically not criminal matters. I went on to an exemplary career as a military policeman, which is not permitted in cases of serious mis-behaviour. If this is truly the reason for disqualification as Danielle Smith informed Mr. Dyrholm, I cannot help but wonder if I am not suffering discrimination because of my military background.

I therefore wish to appeal the disqualification, on the grounds I have listed above. I look forward to being able to defend myself to the Committee.

Looking forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,
Dennis Young

Committee To Elect Dennis Young – 87012, #160 – 11520, 24th Street SE, Calgary, Alberta

Earlier this week, Dennis had a tweet confirming that he had sold over 500 Wildrose memberships, which is an amazing figure if true.  I live in Calgary Hays and I am shocked that his team has been able to sell this many memberships in the riding.  In the above letter, he also states that he has dropped two pieces of lit to every house ( I have not received one....) which is amazingly expensive.  I also found it funny to see that the literature is the standard carbon copy wording that the Chandler team uses...in fact, they even missed removing Mark Dryholm's name from the copy/paste campaign materials! ( h/t @waptopstory)

While I believe that there are two sides to every story, I have a hard time imagining that any party would remove a candidate without a justifiable cause.  It just seems to point out the growing pains that the Wildrose is having in attracting quality candidates in their fledgling party.  I will keep watching to see how this one plays out with interest.

Calgary MLA Art Johnson Loses PC Nomination Battle In Calgary Southeast

   I am sure many people will be surprised to hear the news today that longtime Calgary Hays MLA Art Johnston has lost the nomination vote to run as the Alberta PC candidate for the newly created riding of Calgary Southeast in the next provincial election, to Rick Fraser. 

  As a member of the Calgary Hays/Calgary Southeast Board of Directors, I had the opportunity to volunteer at last nights nomination vote to see who would become the PC candidate for the newly created riding of Calgary SE.   This riding was created during the last electoral boundary commission due to the explosive growth in population in the deep south corridor.  It essentially split the existing Calgary Hays riding into two, and includes the neighborhoods of Silverado, Chaparral, Walden, Cranston, Auburn Bay, Mahogany, Copperfield and New Brighton. 

  Current Hays MLA Art Johnston had decided to run in this part of the split riding and faced a last minute challenge to the nomination by Mr. Fraser.  For months, Rick had declared his intentions to run in the existing Calgary Hays riding in the next election and has been actively selling memberships and even pulled a major coup and took control of the Hays board at this springs AGM, ousting the long time riding association president.  Many where shocked to learn that Rick then decided to instead run against Art for the Calgary SE nomination. 

While it is rare for sitting MLA's to be challenged for a nomination, it is even rarer to see a sitting MLA lose his position as the party candidate in the next election.  Due to the short time frame, both parties had worked extremely hard in securing new memberships ( I hear that over 350 new memberships where sold this week between the two candidates)  and urging party members to come out and vote.  The race was extremely close, with Rick Fraser edging Art by a vote of 78 to 74. 

That's democracy.....

 Before the vote, Art had jokingly said to me that "I'm not ready to put out on any Ice Floes..." and I believe he still has a lot of work he wants to accomplish in the legislature.  I am not sure what the future holds for Art, but I think he should be commended for the work he has done in Calgary Hays, especially in securing new schools for our area.

 While I congratulate Rick on his nomination victory,  I was a little discouraged to learn of his association with the PGIB ( and its often polarizing founder, Craig Chandler.) following the meeting,  as Rick always spoke to me about his desire for change and transparency.   Many people will recall that Chandler was disqualified as a PC candidate in 2007 due to some comments made by the by a group also founded by him. I have gotten to know Rick over the past two years and I cannot imagine what these two would have in common at all.

Interesting times...

Rick's website can be found at http://www.frasernation.com/


UPDATE:

I have been getting a lot of emails and a few comments requesting proof of the PGIB affiliation. Please click the link below for a copy of the lit.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1Dlp8BcDOJKUNVn30DJ3AYry88v1HDmNSoxCEm4C_KAfMiGwgr0rMRLEAu66N&hl=en&authkey=CPLr3J0F

I certaintly hope that Rick posts a followup confirming his association with PGIB and their founders, as it may become a small distraction going forward.



 

Executive Breakfast with Ted Morton, Minister of Finance and Enterprise

 I am pleased to be part of the organizing committee that is planning a fundraiser for the Calgary Hays PC Association.  We try to have an annual breakfast fundraiser with different guest speakers and this year we were fortunate enough to secure The Hon. Ted Morton!


This breakfast will be held on March 26, 2010 at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. The event details and order form can be found here :
 
  Executive Breakfast Invite

This event should be very interesting given the recent economic developments in Alberta and the pending Royalty Review adjustments.  Tickets are limited and selling quickly.  Feel free to email me if you have any questions! 

Shane

Be sure to stop by and say hello that morning!

Calgary Hays PC Association/MLA Art Johnston Golf Tournament

We still have a few spots available for the Calgary Hays PC Association/MLA Art Johnston Golf Tournament on Friday June 26, 2009. This year, we are partnering with the Parkinson Society of Southern Alberta and our special guest will be the Honourable Ron Liepert, Minister of Health and Wellness.

If you are interested, send me an email or check the link on the PC Alberta website. Spots are filling quickly, but I thought I would share this in case there was any interest.

I attended this event last year and it was a blast. I can't wait to hit McKenzie Meadows Golf course again this year. Hopefully, my game will be better than last year!

Calgary Hays PC Association AGM

The Calgary Hays PC Association will be holding thier AGM tomorrow, May 14, 2009 at 7pm.

Location: Deerfoot Inn McKenzie Rm. 1000 - 11500 35 St. S.E., Calgary

The guest speaker will be Yvonne Fritz, Minister or Housing and Urban Affairs.

I am hoping for a good turnout. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Just keep me out of the Casino when we are done!