t-minus 1.

I spent the past weekend campaigning in Drumheller-Stettler by-election for Tom Dooley.

Being in Drumheller, I didn't expect a warm reception at the doors, so I was pretty surprised at the positive reaction I recieved when I told people I was campaigning for Tom Dooley (quite literally every second door).

It soon became fairly clear that Tom Dooley is a really well known man in the Drumheller area (he's also a really nice guy). As a local rancher, former County Councillor and Deputy Reeve, I get the feeling Tom Dooley do pretty well in Drumheller.

Even though Tory candidate Jack Hayden is considered the by many to be the frontrunner in this long-time rural 'c'onservative riding, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a substantial slip in the 'C'onservative vote this time around. I say this for a number of reasons.

First, it’s a by-election. In by-elections, voters can express their satifaction or disatisfaction with the governing party without changing government.

Second, with four right-wing candidates in the running, there is a good chance that the 'c'onservative vote will be split between Hayden, Social Credit candidate Larry Davidson (Davidson actually had noticeably more signs on private property in Drumheller than Hayden), Alliance candidate Dave France, and Alberta Independence advocate John Rew. This right-wing split could cause some interesting senarios when the votes are counted.

Third, the Balzac water management issue has exploded in Drumheller. I'm still blown away by how mad the people I spoke with on the doors are about this issue. When the Drumheller Valley Times runs "Liberals show PC's lied" as their frontpage headline, you know this has become a big issue.

As for the other smaller party candidates, it's always tough to predict how well the Greens will do, so it will be interesting to see how Jennifer Wigmore makes out (Her husband ran as the Green candidate in the area during the last Federal Election, so there is probably a certain amount of 'Wigmore' name recognition in the constituency). As for the New Democrats, well... the 'Brian Mason' campaign signs everywhere signal to me that if the New Democrats aren't even buying signs with their candidate's name on them, they've pretty much given up on these races (I hear the same signs have shown up in Calgary Elbow).

As for the Calgary Elbow race (which most of the media attention has been on), some of the media outlets seem to be calling it already, but I've been around enough election campaigns to know that it's not over until the polls close at 8pm (or on the third judicial recount in some cases). It's been a hot race between Alberta Liberal Craig Cheffins and Brian "the choker" Heninger, so it should add some excitement to tomorrow's day on the Alberta political scene.

Nether the less, both the Drumheller-Stettler and Calgary Elbow by-elections tomorrow will be uphill battles for any of the opposition candidates running as both constituencies have been held by the Tories for over 30 years

If you live in either of these constituencies, remember to get out and vote tomorrow!

stranglehold.

More later, but what?

"I'd choke our premier," Heninger says to the disgruntled voter, the latest in a string of citizens who have expressed frustration with Progressive Conservative Premier Ed Stelmach.

UPDATE: As Dan points out, Stelmach has provided Albertans with an incredibly entertaining update:

According to reports, [Henninger] told a constituent at the door he would like to "choke" Stelmach. The premier said that kind of enthusiasm is exactly what he wants in his MLAs.

piadvocacy.

Public Interest Alberta held their Annual General Meeting on Saturday (I meant to go, but didn't make it in the end). At the AGM, Jackie Flanagan, Publisher of Alberta Views Magazine received the "Public Interest Award for her work with the magazine and as an advocate of the public good." Video clips of Flanagan's acceptance speech are below for your viewing pleasure:

budget more.

The Alberta Teachers' Association has launched a new website calling on Minister of Education Ron Liepert to not short-change our education system and to make education funding a priority. I would have to agree.

flap flap flap.

The adventures of Honest Ed continue...

EDMONTON -- Premier Ed Stelmach admitted Monday that "overzealous" organizers for his Conservative leadership bid wrongly solicited a $10,000 cheque from a municipal garbage agency, money his campaign returned after he won the race.

The premier said the donation last summer from Beaver Regional Waste Management Service's Commission was legal but clearly unethical, though the Tofield-area body's records show the cheque was only returned a day before Stelmach's campaign had officially cleared its debt in February.

It's the second time Stelmach has blamed his campaigners for questionable practices, months after public outcry forced him to cancel a $5,000-a-ticket fundraising reception billed as a chance to have a private audience with Alberta's top politician.

Liberal Leader Kevin Taft, who made public the $10,000 donation in the legislature Monday, accused Stelmach of developing a "conscience of convenience" once the leader had a campaign surplus and knew his finances faced more public scrutiny.

"It was only after they began to feel they would be watched that they developed a conscience and refunded the money," Taft told reporters.

And yet some people will tell me that donations to leadership races have no business being public.

I'm of the belief that there should be much more accoutability through involvement by Elections Alberta in internal party financial and fundraising rules similar to those of Elections Canada.

Can you imagine an Alberta where an end would be put to massive secret and loophole backdoor out-of-province political donations?

Sigh.

UPDATE: Calgary Grit's take on Stelmach's ""The donation might have been legal, it certainly was not ethical." comment.

alberta's new balance of power?

A good friend passed along this message to me:

Alberta's newfound fiscal capacity has led many to predict it will lead to a new balance of power and perhaps even instability in the federation. How will Alberta choose to exercise this political and economic clout? How will the federal government, and the other provinces, react? And to what extent will this affect the regional balance of power and the national agenda? These were the questions that were asked at a recent Public Policy Forum event held at the Ranchmen's Club in Calgary.

At the event, presentations were made by the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Tom Courchene, Professor of Economic and Financial Policy at Queen's University. You can read Minister Ambrose’s speech here and Dr. Courchene’s speech here.

kevin taft offers albertans a plan.

I know I already posted one of the videos already, but four new online videos have been released with Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft speaking about the Alberta Liberal plan for affordable housing, Alberta’s Creative Economy, Alberta’s Water, and Sustaining Alberta’s future.