She doesn't do cheques???

Kamloops Thompson-Cariboo Conservative Party MP Cathy McLeod in response to NDP candidate Michael Crawford outing her in the whole Conservative prop cheque scandal, or Cheque Republic, she said, " I don't do cheques."

Well Cathy, looks like you , " do cheques".

Guess Who's Back?

This is before the meltdown !

BC leads the nation in child poverty.
BC homeless up 400%, under Campbell.

This was during the "boom"!

Now imagine those statistics for today or even next year?

The thing that gets me is the BC Liberals( aka Socreds) are touting themselves as strong economic managers. If this is Campbell's idea of "Keeping BC Strong", I don't want any part of it.

A strong economy does not leave that many behind.

Strong economic managers? That's a load of crap.

Kamloops Election outcome

I am a little behind schedule on my blogging due to life and the fact that I don't get paid to do it. Which means that when I'm in the mood for blogging, I will. When I am not, I won't. Sorry, Mel.

The Kamloops election was a fairly sedated affair. Voter turn out was around 28% and the campaign was less then electric. Including " the split".

Peter Milobar won the mayor's seat in a landslide receiving 75% of the 28% that voted. Murphy came second with just over 20% of the vote. I had a personal goal of high 30s, but overall it was a respectable showing by Kennedy. Also, I believe that when the economy became the main focus that Murphy missed a chance to say that he was ahead of the curve and already had a plan to deal with it. He should have said, my platform is the plan. It will keep tax increases below inflation, meaning real savings for residents. I want to move infrastructure projects ahead of schedule to help stave off any downturn and position us for the inevitable rebound. I want to make housing more affordable by offering discounts to multi-family homes. These will all help deal with the coming downturn. He didn't and it probably would have been worth another 10% of the votes.

However, council has a new look. Council has lost its diversity with the defeat of councillors Singh and Leong, but gained a balance of 4 women and 4 men. It also sees to election of 3 candidates endorsed by the Kamloops and District Labour Council. Marg Spina, Denis Walsh and Nancy Bepple will all help put social issues on the agenda, and should take residents concerns into consideration. All in all, it will make for a good balance.

I do have one concern, the current lame duck council considered and passed some controversial and important development choices the other night. In my opinion, they no longer have the mandate to proceed in these areas and should have left it to the newly elected council to deal with upon assumption of duties.

Inside Kennedy for Kamloops: Part 2- He's not the candidate, but he is a candidate.

My wife, Darlene, and myself are avid West Wing fans. Darlene isn't so much the political wonk that I am but she enjoys the show. We enjoy it so much that we own just about every season. The reason that I am telling you this is because on the West Wing, they always talk about the one candidate. The one that you would do just about anything for, the one that gives you goose bumps. In the show President Bartlett, and later Santos, are depicted in this manner.

Murphy and I met at McDonald's on the North Shore in early August. This was immediately. the next day, after he made the initial enquiry to me. I agreed to me him, and brought along some reading from Jane Jacobs, Richard Florida and a text book devoted to BC politics. I advised him that his first action should be to read and understand the concepts in these books. They would be very helpful in discussing urban issues during the campaign.

Then I set the ground rules for my involvement. I insisted that in order for this campaign to be successful that Murphy would have to be the candidate, only. I would take care of the rest with a group of volunteers. We would advise him on policy and campaigning, he would be the one kissing hands and shaking babies. Murphy agreed, and we then discussed the re-launch of his campaign. I had hoped to wait a week or so, in order to get my feet and do some further research. Murphy wanted to go right away, so I conceded to the candidate.

When I returned home that evening, Darlene asks me "What's he like?". I said, he's not the candidate but he is a candidate. It was my belief at the time, and still today, that this was Kamloops' best chance to elect a progressive mayor and to elect a mayor from the North Shore. This was based on the fact that there was no incumbent mayor and that Milobar was running on a " I won't screw up" campaign. I felt that Murphy could grow into the role of a candidate and that he was the best choice to move council toward residents needs.

So, I began preparing for a re-launch of Murphy's campaign.

Next: Inside Kennedy for Kamloops: Part 3- Vision, vision and more vision.

When will Canada come full circle with its history?

The election of Barack Obama yesterday brought tears to my eyes, and a sense of a brighter future for all of humanity. I am usual quite jaded and cynical, but the election of the first African-American President of the United States has made me hopeful. That we will all find a better and inclusive way forward. Congratulations Mr. President-Elect Obama.

I never thought I would live to see this day. This got me thinking, when will Canada elect its first aborginal PM? It is long overdue.

Will I live to see this day? Hopefully.

BC Election 2009: Strategy talk

Well it looks like the BC Liberals are shaking in their boots, and are genuinely worried about the outcome of the next provincial election in BC, May 2009. Gordon Campbell handed out more treats on Halloween. However, Campbell and his cohorts seem to be the house that hands out raisins, and most of the kids avoid it.

Adding to his box of raisins, Campbell announced some new policies to "help" ordinary folks. He announced a freeze on property assessments, at near all time highs. But only, if you appeal your 2008 assessment. Something tells me that this will cost more then it is worth, and freezing assessments at the peak of a housing price cycle is not wise. He also announced a property tax deferment program, where home owners can defer their taxes. Wow, if I put my property tax in the bank, investments are too risky, I can buy a chocolate bar for my kids in a year then pay my taxes. Thanks Gord !

This follows announcements awhile back at the UBCM meeting in Penticton. There the Premier announced that municipalities would get any carbon tax paid back, if they signed on to a vague carbon neutral agreement. He also got rid of the much hated toll on the Coquihalla highway. The fact that the employees, mangers and even staff in the ministers office had no clue until 15 minutes before hand shows that the BC Liberal Party is flying by the seat of their pants.

In these tough times, do we want a government that doesn't plan? I don't.

Now, the two victories in the recent by-elections in Vancouver have scared the Socred government. The premier was attacking the NDP and several ministers were going after Carole James. We saw in the federal election, how defining your opponent first can be very advantageous. The NDP should take a similar strategy, but in the reverse.

Polls tell us that the public has definite opinions on Gordon Campbell. They love or hate him, there doesn't seem to be a middle ground or many undecideds on this one. It has been that way for awhile, and I would guess that it is pretty concrete. Therefore, any attempt to define Campbell will meet with minimal gains. That said, the opposite is true about Carole James. It seems a large portion of the public doesn't have any opinion about the Leader of the Opposition.

This can be an advantage or not. It depends on the actions of the two main parties. The BC Liberals seem to have that figured out, thus the Sarah Palin comparisons. Though this is a very weak and laughable angle, the fact is the Social Credit party is trying to define James.

The BCNDP needs to nullify this tactic immediately by aggressively promoting Carole James in a postive light. They need to ensure that British Columbians know that Carole is one of them, not a rockstar. The fact that their is a ban of pre-writ advertising makes this even more urgent. The BCNDP should be promoting James over the holidays, contrasted with ads about the extra costs of heating this winter due to the carbon tax. Set the tone and eliminate possible attempts to define James is the best approach.