Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor will announce that he is joining the new Alberta Party this morning, becoming that party’s first ever MLA.
From the Calgary Herald:
Ex-Liberal MLA Dave Taylor will throw his support to the Alberta Party today, adding a third opposition party to the increasingly crowded legislature floor.
“I am joining the Alberta Party and that obviously means I will sit as an Alberta Party MLA,” Taylor told the Herald on the weekend.
“I’ve taken a long time to make this decision but I believe it is the right one. The Alberta Party is a good fit with my values and my principles. I can be very comfortable with these people.”
The Calgary-Currie MLA will make the announcement this morning at a downtown news conference with interim party Leader Suff Huff, other party advocates, and members of his Currie riding association.
His decision is a “tremendous boost to this new party and another nail in the coffin of the Liberals,” says Mount Royal University professor David Taras.
“So far the Alberta Party is below the radar with most Albertans. Not many could pick the leader out of a lineup.
“And now here’s Dave Taylor all of a sudden. He’s known, he’s articulate and he’s effective. People could start to get really interested in this new party.
A former radio host on Calgary’s AM770, Mr. Taylor was first elected as a Liberal MLA in 2004 and left that party to sit as an Independent MLA in April 2010. As the new Alberta Party’s first MLA, he will certainly give the new party a boost in public attention as the Legislature resumes sitting on February 22, 2011. Today’s announcement also challenges the growing narrative that only the Wildrose Alliance has momentum going into an expected 2012 provincial general election.
In December 2010, the Alberta Party Board of Directors surprised some political watchers when they approved a set of guidelines for future Alberta Party MLAs and MLAs wishing to join that Party. The Alberta Party also kicked off its leadership contest in January 2011 with voting for a new leader to take place in May 2011.
Mr. Taylor’s move creates an even more oddly split Assembly with 67 Progressive Conservative MLAs, 8 Liberal MLAs, 4 Wildrose Alliance MLAs, 2 New Democrat MLAs, 1 Alberta Party MLA, and 1 Independent MLA.
(Note: I am a member of the Alberta Party. Read my closing remarks to the Party’s 2010 Policy Convention to get a good idea of why I joined)
20 replies on “calgary mla dave taylor joins the alberta party.”
I don’t know, I’d buy that this was a big deal if they had gotten any so-called “authority” but Taras to claim that. (Seriously, it has gotten to the point where if Taras is willing to make a strong statement about something in the media, I am automatically willing to believe the opposite.)
But congratulations on your party’s first MLA, in any case.
Dave Taylor promised to run in a byelection if he joined another party before the next election. So much for the “big listen”.
And the realignment of Alberta politics continues. Is Raj Sherman next? Kent Hehr? Doug Griffiths?
Keep up the good work.
Good luck Dave. I voted for you twice and will again!
Exciting news for progressive politics in this province! Great scoop Dave!
Don Braid can’t count past three, it seems (though it’s been corrected in the online version).
Calgary(Toronto)Grit posted on this, and suggested that Taylor was now virtually assured of being party leader. In my response to his blog, I said that this sort of foregone conclusion to a leadership race is EXACTLY what a new party that claims to do politics differently DOESN’T need.
It’ll be interesting to see if he proves an asset or a liability in the long run. Particularly if he runs for the leadership (which seems inevitable) and loses again.
So…now that the Alberta Party has acquired one of the most elitist, abrasive, self-righteous a-holes in the entire Legislature, how is it going to reconcile the enforcement of its MLA code of conduct with its overall hatred of the “party line”?
Good luck with that, especially given this individual’s track record of playing well with others. If you can still be all things to all people when dealing with this calibre of a narcissistic opportunist, power to you…but come to think of it, he may fit right in.
But good on you folks anyway. I think we can all forgive the rank double standard in light of the greater good – you’ve kept him from going back to talk radio for that much longer, and humanity at large is in your debt.
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This is meaningless, Dave is not an impact person in the Legislature, that’s just a fact.
I think the AP is going to be disappointed with this guy if they put too much stock in him. He’s ok but just not up to the task. He’s been wandering around in limbo and seems lost sometimes, maybe the AP is a good fit for him then.
Taylor will shine where he always has – in the soundbyte. He’s far more outgoing than Swann is and that will become obvious as the first AP MLA, moreso if he becomes leader. He’ll get the AP some press by making highly-quotable critical comments about the government. Trouble is, for the AP to take advantage of Taylor’s gift of gab, the AP will have to play the politics as usual game.
Wasn’t he against changing the name during the Liberal leadership in 2008? Didn’t he say he was a “Proud Liberal” back then as opposed to Swann who was in favour of changing the name?
Didn’t Chima N., who was acting co-leader/founder in the beginning, say “not interested” when people started floating the idea of Taylor joining them?
And what about the Alberta Party rules for floor crossers having to first go through a by-election?
Anyone who thinks the Alberta Party people are any different from the other politicos is gravely mistaken. They’re exactly like the rest, a political party interested in political gain, even the expedient type.
Dear Posters, as long as Dave ferociously persues his mandate to serve the public, it does not matter what the mudslingers are saying.
As of now, AP’s formation is merely splitting the Liberal Votes, that does not put a chink in the PC Armour at all.
Let’s see what happens with Ted Morton and his dislike of the new budget deficit. Let’s see if Morton is a real man and has the bxlls to do something about it. RW fiscals don’t like Eddie and progressives are upset with Eddie.
Perhaps in the coming months, if there is a split in the PC’s, you will see a mass exodus out of the PC’s with 1/3 going with Ted for a leadership race, 1/3 going to WR and 1/3 going to AP, leaving a small number of PC seats.
Either way, while a positive sign that AP got their first MLA, you have to remember, they did not get it by earning the votes. So, we still have to see if the AP is a serious and viable alternative, time and circumstances will tell, speculation is futile at this point, we have to see what the RW guys in the PC party are going to decide to do with Stalinmech and the new budget.
Hey Dave, here’s what your favorite MLA had to say about this news item in the G&M
“I certainly wouldn’t be crossing to the Alberta Party if Dave Taylor’s involved,” said Laurie Blakeman, an Edmonton Liberal MLA in whose name was frequently tossed about as a potential floor-crosser. “We’ve been there. We know what he’s about. The rest of the Alberta Party is about to find out.”
Mikael – thanks for the comment. I like Laurie Blakeman and appreciate that she is speaking from her experiences with Taylor, in which they obviously ran up against some personality conflicts. Taylor has baggage, but so does every other MLA in the Legislature.
One of the biggest things that has drawn me to the new Alberta Party is the ability of the people involved to put aside their previous political affiliations in order to work together to build a positive political alternative. Everyone deserves a chance at this, including Dave Taylor
Thanks again for the comment,
Dave
Okay dude…except for the fact that a major part of that “positive political alternative” is holding yourselves to a higher moral standard. Not to mention premising your entire electoral strategy on attracting the majority of the electorate who don’t vote on the assumption they’re cynical and mistrust politicians, because of political opportunism.
Which is really great and noble, until opportunity knocks and it isn’t convenient to actually practice the preaching. Empty words, guys. Zero cred.
Taylor is the best quote and has the quickest wit in the Legislature. He is hilarious in person, in the press, and in conversation.
I wish Dave the best. He’s a great guy and a good politician who has represented his constituents well.
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