Who would you be proud to have as premier?
I’m not a fan of party politics. Quite frankly I could care less which “party” is in charge. I care more about who the people in government are and what kinds of decisions they make. With three leadership races going on at the provincial level there is an immense possibility for new leadership, some names are even being touted as leader for more than one party.
To that end I wanted to post a poll here on the blog to find out who would make you proud to have as our premier. Regardless of party affiliation. So have at it. Pick one or pick several. Who do you think would do a good job?
If you’d like me to add more names to the poll, just leave them in the comments.
Metro column: Griffiths right man at right time?
It looks like Stelmach made the decision for us.
There’s no need for an election to make it happen. There will be a new premier by next year. And in the wake of Premier Stelmach’s resignation the long list of potential replacements is starting to pile up.
Ted Morton has to be the front-runner at this point — if not for the caucus budget brouhaha we’ve been reading about, then at least for the number of Wildrose Alliance members who could very well purchase a PC Party membership to install him as the next premier. (Consider this a hedging-your-bets play by more conservative-minded politicos.)
But behind the obvious choice of Morton, the pack starts getting very confusing. The other contenders may include Dave Hancock and Doug Horner, as well as “outsiders” Jim Dinning and Jim Prentice.
But it is 2011 now. The upcoming election campaign will be unlike any the Progressive Conservatives have faced in their 40-year run. It will take a different kind of leader to pull off another win over the upstart Wildrose Alliance and Alberta Party.
It’s going to be someone like Lindsay Blackett, Jonathan Denis, Thomas Lukaszuk, Alison Redford and their like who will have to lead the party forward. But sadly, the majority in this group have ended up in their seat by playing the “old” game well and don’t really represent a “new,” less partisan way forward.
The only man I can see in a position to be the right person at the right time is a little-known MLA from Hardisty: Doug Griffiths.
To begin with, he is Alberta. He fits in everywhere and everyone has an immense amount of respect for the man — north, south; rural, urban; conservative, liberal; the energy sector, farmers. He gets Alberta as a whole, and is the only person, regardless of party, who bridges all these traditional opposites.
Griffiths has tough decisions to make, too. The PCs have barely embraced him, let alone recognized him as the golden boy who could lead them into the next century by transcending the type of election every other party is going to run. Sources tell me that at this point, he’s just as likely to not run in 2012 and be closer to his young family, who will no doubt show him more appreciation.
The Alberta Party, which is entering into a leadership race of its own, sees Griffiths’s value.
Before Stelmach’s announcement, Griffiths was no doubt being pursued to run in the Alberta Party contest for the reasons I list and more.
I don’t want to put too fine a point on it, but the future of Alberta’s government could hinge on Griffiths’s decision. If he were to run, I think he would have a very good chance as a dark-horse candidate to put aside all the PC baggage others will inadvertently carry and win.
Because during leadership conventions the best candidate to lead the party into an election isn’t always the one who comes out on top (Stelmach?), I should stop short of saying Griffiths will be our next premier. But he would offer the Progressive Conservatives, and Albertans in general, a great choice.
Calgary Original: “Griffiths right man at right time?” http://www.metronews.ca/calgary/local/article/756489–dark-horse-griffiths-the-man-to-lead-tories
Edmonton Original: “Dark-horse Griffiths the man to lead Tories” http://www.metronews.ca/edmonton/local/article/756489–dark-horse-griffiths-the-man-to-lead-tories
An intro to Lindsay Blackett
For those of you in the arts I have some required reading for you. Fellow blogger, The Enlightened Savage, has done up a wonderful primer to introduce you to Alberta’s new Minister of Culture and Community Spirit.
The Calgary Professional Arts Alliance will be sending Minister Blackett a personal welcome shortly, and hopefully we will be able to have him formally introduce himself to the arts community in the next couple of months. The CPAA is in the midst of planning a couple of events in the near future (including an AGM) so please stay tuned via the CPAA email bulletin – perhaps the best way to stay on top of arts goings on in Calgary.
An open letter to Ed Stelmach, re: please give me a job
Dear Mr. Stelmach:
I wanted to thank you for emulating Premier Lougheed. No, no, not for arguing with “Ottawa” over our energy plans, but for creating a ministry of Culture. It is absolutely great news to see something like this: not only a cultural policy but a department to implement it. Oddly groundbreaking, actually.
If anyone from the Alberta Government is reading this please have them pass my name along to Minister Lindsay Blackett. I’d be happy to help him out in anyway I can. You can see my LinkedIn profile by clicking the link over there on the right (you have to visit http://blog.djkelly.ca first if you’re using a reader). As you can see I have skills such as knowing the arts community. And actually spelling “Blackett” correctly. I also have my own car. So I can make deliveries, I guess. If you have need of a marketing/communications/policy/blogging guy with too much time on his hands anywhere if your ministry please don’t hesitate to email me at blog@djkelly.ca.
Go team! (See how I showed my “Community Spirit” right there? I’m good at that too.) I look forward to hearing from you.
Luv,
-dj
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