With a number of former MLAs having declared their intentions to seek their party candidacies in the next election (David Eggen, Rick Miller, Weslyn Mather, and Mo Elsalhy), I thought it would be interesting to take a look at other former MLAs who launched successful and not so successful comeback attempts. By my count, thirteen former MLAs have attempted a comeback since the 1997 General Election, meaning that most former MLAs stay former. Of this group only six have successfully returned to the Assembly.
Former MLAs attempting a return to the Legislature
Candidate
Party
Constituency
Vote
Result
Previous Office
1997 General Election
Albert Ludwig
Liberal
Calgary-Foothills
29.7%
Defeated
Social Credit MLA Calgary-North East (1959-1963), Calgary-East (1963-1971), Calgary-Mountain View (1971-1975)
– A sad so-long to the authors of the Edmonton Journal’s Capital Notebook blog. Legislature Press Gallery reporters Archie McLean and Trish Audette are moving on to bigger and better things. They will be missed. Good luck!
– After three-terms in the Legislative Assembly, former Liberal leader Kevin Tafthas announced that he will not seek re-election in Edmonton-Riverview when the next election is held.
– The Pembina Institute says Imperial Oil is being allowed to break rules about tailings for its new Kearl oilsands plant.
– Landowner groups gathered in Red Deer on August 10 for the first ever conference on landowner rights. The United Power Transmission Area Groups hosted the conference which was attended by more than a dozen groups from across Alberta. The main topic of the conference were the legislative frameworks that have reduced or eliminated landowners’ rights in regards to transmission lines.
– The new Alberta Party will be holding its annual general meeting in October in Red Deer.
– The lobbyists behind the Envision Edmonton group are offering cash for signatures for a petition to stop the phased closure of the City Centre Airport. Chris Labossiere broke this news on his blog yesterday.
– Alberta Health Servcies CEO Dr. Stephen Duckett has published a bizarre post on his blog this week taking the Edmonton Journal to task for something they published over a year ago.
– Federal voting intentions in Alberta from the latest Angus-Reid poll: Conservative (61%), Liberal (13%), NDP (13%), Green (13%). Dan Arnold has a good overview of August poll results.
– Michael Cormican has been nominated as the federal Liberal candidate in Lethbridge.
– Naheed Nenshi has released a new video outlining his plan if elected as the next Mayor of Calgary. Mr. Nenshi has also provided some solidresponses to Barb Higgins and Alderman Ric McIver‘s “policy framework” and “visions.”
Mary-Ellen Proctor is starting a 21-day fast — the number of days that women can stay at the shelter before they are reassessed, she said. The FCS has an emergency shelter but lacks resources in the community to allow the women to stay longer than three weeks. Last year, they had to turn away 400 women because there wasn’t enough enough, Proctor said.
Currently, they are housing three women, who have been staying for seven months. “It’s similar to like being in jail. It’s a terrible place to be,” Proctor said.
The new shelter project is set to cost $50 million, out of which $15 million needs to be fundraised. The rest will come through government grants. The society is in the infant stages of getting funding from government. Read more…
To donate to the Fort McMurray Family Crisis Centre, call 780-750-2530.
In an election that saw the most high-profile Liberal MLAs go down in defeat, first-time candidate Dr. Taft defeated a Tory star candidate and increased his party’s margin from the previous election. He was the only rookie MLA to be elected in the 2001 election.
As Official Opposition leader and health critic, Dr. Taft has easily been one of the most focused and effective opposition MLAs in the Assembly.
I first met Dr. Taft in 2000 and he played a big role in why I was involved in the Liberal Party for eight years. During my time as Communications Coordinator with the Liberals I worked closely with Dr. Taft and got to better understand his passion for our province’s future. On March 3, 2008, I spent election day in the Riverview campaign office helping get out the vote for Dr. Taft. Both at the doors and on the phone I was constantly surprised at the level of support and respect that he received from his constituents.
With (maybe) two years until the next election, I suspect that the Tories will be counting the days until they no longer have such a focused and relentless health critic in the Official Opposition benches.
What is next for Riverview?
The departure of Dr. Taft in the next election could open up Riverview into a competitive campaign in 2011/2012. Under normal circumstances I would predict that Riverview will remain the strong Liberal-held constituency that it has been since it was created in 1997, but the political environment is shifting and polls are showing that these are not normal political circumstances.
The Liberals will need to nominate a good candidate and run another strong campaign in Riverview in order to fend off a predictably well-financed Progressive Conservative challenge or an insurgent New Democrat candidate. Welcome to battleground Riverview?
Edmonton-Mill Woods MLA Carl Benito at the Premier's Capital Ex Pancake Breakfast on July 27, 2010.
– A promise is a promise, except if it’s a Carl Benito promise.SEE Magazine and the Edmonton Journal are taking Edmonton-Mill Woods PC MLA Carl Benito to task over not fulfilling his election promise to donate his entire MLA salary to a scholarship fund. According to Mr. Benito, when he promised to donate his entire salary, he did not really mean his entire salary. Mr. Benito is having a pretty tough time arguing against his own statements from election night in 2008:
On Monday night, Benito repeated his promise to donate his MLA salary (about $75,000) to a scholarship program. The idea was created to sway young people into more positive areas and away from youth-related crime, he said.
“We’ve put that in writing and we’re 100-per-cent committed to it. I strongly believe in giving back to the community. The young people in Mill Woods are the future of our community.”
Liberal Opposition Chief of Staff Rick Miller will seek the Liberal nomination in Edmonton-Rutherford.
In front of almost 200 supporters at a BBQ fundraiser, former MLA Rick Miller announced that he will seek the Liberal nomination in Edmonton-Rutherford in the next provincial election.
The next election will be Mr. Miller’s fourth time standing as a candidate in that constituency. He was narrowly defeated in the race to replace retiring Liberal MLA Percy Wickman by former Reform Party Member of Parliament Ian McClelland in 2001, but trumped Mr. McClelland in 2004 with a 3,048 vote margin.
As MLA he served as Official Opposition Finance critic from 2004 until 2008 and was widely seen to have earned the respect of his caucus colleagues and government members for his respectful questions and intelligent debate. In 2008, Mr. Miller was defeated by PC candidate Fred Horne in a tight race that was decided by a slim-margin of 58 votes.
Rutherford is a constituency where the Liberals could benefit greatly from a vote-split caused by a stronger Wildrose Alliance in the next election. The cynicismgenerated by Mr. Horne’s traveling “Alberta Health Act” road show could also take some shine off this government backbencher who was once touted as a future cabinet minister. A Facebook event for an upcoming local New Democratic Party event lists Melanie Samaroden as a prospective candidate for that party in this constituency.
Why would Ms. Smith wade into this issue? Might it be a genuine desire to see Edmontonians vote on the airport issue? With no local MLAs and second or third place support in the City of Edmonton (according to most polls), it could also be a political power play. With all but one PC MLA silent on the issue, Ms. Smith could be looking to draw in the support of that disgruntled (and largely conservative) crowd who might not be happy that their newly elected PC MLAs are silently enjoying their summer vacations.
While Ms. Smith’s endorsement made headlines, barely anyone has noticed the motley crew of three local MLAs who have peeped up with opinions on the issue. First-term backbencher Mr. Elniski, anti-establishment hound Liberal MLA Mr. MacDonald, and NDP leader Mr. Mason are the only MLAs to speak publicly in favour of the airport petition. I have heard from a number of sources that PC MLAs have been told to steer clear from this potentially dangerous debate, with the exception of Mr. Elniski whose Edmonton-Calder constituency encompasses the airport.
In 2004, a group of PC MLAs became entangled in a nasty quarrel with City Council over the move of scheduled 10-seat flights from Calgary and Lethbridge to the International Airport. That quarel is considered by many people to be one of the factors that led to a Liberal sweep of Edmonton in the November 2004 election.
During that quarrel, then-Councillor Mandel had some harsh words when now former PC MLAs Mark Norris and Brent Rathegeber sided against the City:
“Enough is enough. There gets to be a point where you have to ask, ‘Can Edmonton make a decision without someone interfering in it?’ ” Mandel said.
“Because another city complains, we have to change things. Let’s hear Calgary complaining, and then I’m sure will have to reinstitute those flights. I think it’s absolutely unacceptable that the city of Edmonton has to play second fiddle to anyone.”
SOURCE: Stay out of it, mayor tells the province, Keith Gerein and Kelly Cryderman. Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alta.: Jul 27, 2004. pg. B.1
Less than three months after making this statement, Councillor Mandel was elected Mayor.
We’ve been conscious of a need for a new approach to politics for sometime now. Alberta is a place of potential and creativity, and Albertans have much more in common than we have things to divide us. We all work hard to contribute to a society that is abundant in resources, compassionate and progressive. As citizens, we deserve a political culture that reflects that reality.
The Alberta Party brings together community members who share our sense that we don’t just need a new government, but a whole new way of doing politics. Old, polarizing schools of thought, organized around right vs. left, rural vs. urban, haves vs. have nots, prevent Albertans from collaborating to make our province the best it can be for everyone. The Alberta Party, and the Big Listen, promise a better approach, and we want to see this work continue. That’s why we’ve decided to make a leadership gift to the Big Momentum campaign, so this movement can grow and thrive. We encourage you to join us and make your gift to the Alberta Party today.
-Pat and Joel Cochrane, Calgary
A search of the Elections Alberta financial contribution database shows that the Cochrane’s have made a number of political donations in the past.
– 2004: Joel Cochrane donated $500 to Liberal candidate Dave Taylor‘s campaign in Calgary-Currie.
– 2006: Patricia Cochrane donated $1,000 to the Liberal Party.
– 2007: Joel and Patricia Cochrane donated $1,000 each to the Liberal Party.
– 2008: Joel Cochrane donated $1,000 to the Alberta Green Party.
This morning I enjoyed free pancakes and coffee with around 1000 other Edmontonians at Premier Ed Stelmach‘s 2010 Capital Ex Pancake Breakfast on the south lawn of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly Building. Below are some of the photos I snapped in between my first and second servings of pancakes at 7am this morning. You can see more photos from this morning on the Flickr set Premier’s Capital Ex Pancake Breakfast 2010.
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach welcomes guests to the 2010 Capital Ex Pancake Breakfast on the Legislative Assembly grounds in Edmonton. The Edmonton Eskimos mascot goofs off during Premier Stelmach's welcome speech. Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette gestures wildly. I can only imagine that he is talking about the delicious pancakes. Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove and his goatee enjoy a beautiful morning to grill pancakes outside. Sustainable Resource Development Minister Mel Knight supervises as Edmonton-Meadowlark MLA Raj Sherman grills pancakes. Calgary-Fort MLA Wayne Cao knows how to grill pancakes with style.
The municipal election is less than 90 days away and until then I will be spending more time over at EdmontonPolitics.com. I will still be posting here and cross-posting some of my writing on this blog, but as the municipal election heats up we hope that EdmontonPolitics.com becomes a hub of information and debate around the issues facing our city in this election.
Since Peter Lougheed catapulted from official opposition leader to Premier in 1971, Alberta’s opposition leadership have become a political graveyard for many well-intentioned and ambitious politicians. There are many reasons for this: Alberta’s tradition of electing large government majorities, the ability of the PC party to create a big-tent party, the unpopularity of opposition parties federal counterparts, and the trap of falling into an opposition mentality.
Dr. David Swann is one of many Albertans who have stepped up to the daunting task and challenge of leading a party in the divisive and dysfunctional world of opposition politics in Alberta. Calgary MLA Dave Taylor gave Dr. Swann a verbal lashing when he left the Liberal caucus earlier this past year and last week Tony Sansotta resigned as President after co-signing a letter with Dr. Swann appealing for cooperation with other opposition parties. To the untrained eye, it may look like the Liberal Party is on the verge of internal collapse and maybe it is, but I struggle to think of a time when Alberta has had an opposition party not rife with internal division.
Taking a quick look back at Alberta politics over the past twenty-five years, you will find opposition leaders that made positive contributions to Alberta politics, but could not withstand the meat-grinder of opposition politics in Alberta. A quick read of the list of individuals below could easily lead most Albertans to determine some of the most thankless jobs in our province indeed belong to leaders of provincial opposition parties.
Nick Taylor was the Liberal leader from 1974 to 1988.
Nick Taylor (Liberal leader, 1974 to 1988): He bravely led the Liberals through the darkness and proved that even in the height of the National Energy Program that Liberals had hope to win in Alberta. In 1979, Mr. Taylor placed only 355 votes behind PC candidate Ken Kowalski in a by-election in Barrhead. After six attempts at elected office since 1968, he was elected as MLA for Westlock-Sturgeon in 1986 and was only Leader of the Liberal Opposition in the Assembly for less than two years before his position was challenged by Edmonton Mayor Laurence Decore and Edmonton MLA Grant Mitchell. He continued to serve as an MLA until 1996, when he was appointed to the Senate.
Former Calgary Mayor Rod Sykes briefly led the Social Credit Party from 1980 to 1982.
Rod Sykes (Social Credit leader, 1980 to 1982): After serving two terms as the Mayor of Calgary (1969-1977), Mayor Sykes took over the leadership of the Social Credit Party. After nine years in opposition, the party was mired with internal and financial problems which led him to resign in 1982. He later ran as a federal Liberal candidate in the 1984 election.
Former NDP leader Ray Martin introduces Jack Layton at a 2008 federal election rally.
Ray Martin (NDP leader, 1984 to 1994): He led the New Democrats to its height as Official Opposition with 16 MLAs in 1986 and 1989, but that did not stop the internal bickering. Mr. Martin’s faced calls to resign from Calgary candidate Barry Bristman in 1989 and fought a leadership challenge by St. Paul veterinarian Don Ronaghan in 1991. In 1992, Stony Plain MLA Stan Woloshyn abandoned the NDP for the PCs. Mr. Martin resigned after his party lost all their seats to the Liberals and PCs in the Assembly in the 1993 election. He returned to the Assembly when he was elected as MLA for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview from 2004 to 2008.
Former Edmonton Mayor Laurence Decore led the Liberals from 1989 to 1994.
Laurence Decore (Liberal leader, 1988 to 1994): The former Edmonton Mayor built the best political machine an opposition party had seen since the 1970s, but that was not enough for some of the MLAs in his caucus-mates. In 1993, after the Liberals won their largest vote share with 39.7% and 32 seats, a group of MLAs and party members were not satisfied with official opposition status called for his resignation. Calgary-North West MLA Frank Bruseker was stripped of his major critic portfolios after telling reporters he was worried the party could not win enough seats in Calgary to secure an election win due to Mr. Decore’s leadership. Mr. Decore gracefully resigned in 1994.
Former MP Ross Harvey briefly led the NDP from 1994 to 1996.
Ross Harvey (NDP leader, 1994 to 1996): The former NDP Member of Parliament was selected as leader of the seatless party shortly after he was unseated in the 1993 federal election. He was unable to satisfactorily rebuild his party after it was wiped out in 1993 and quit in 1996. He was soon replaced by Pam Barrett.
Grant Mitchell led the Liberals from 1994 to 1998.
Grant Mitchell (Liberal leader, 1994 to 1998): After a brutal and divisive leadership race in 1994, Mr. Mitchell faced opposition from within his own party and caucus. Three MLAs crossed to the PCs during his time as leader and his leadership opponent MLA Sine Chadi waged a constant campaign to undermine his leadership. Shortly after the 1997 election, former Calgary MLA Danny Dalla-Longa called for his resignation. He resigned in 1998 and in 2005 was appointed to the Senate.
Pam Barrett led the NDP from 1996 to 2000.
Pam Barrett (NDP leader, 1996 to 2000): After serving as MLA for Edmonton-Highlands from 1986 to 1993, Ms. Barrett returned in 1996. She led her party to elect two MLAs in the 1997 election and later resigned after a near-death experience in a dentist’s chair.
Former PC cabinet minister Nancy MacBeth led the Liberals from 1998 to 2001.
Nancy MacBeth (Liberal leader, 1998 to 2001): After losing to Ralph Klein in the 1992 PC leadership race, Ms. MacBeth (then Ms. Betkowski) left politics until 1998 when she swept into the Liberal leadership. The former PC cabinet minister faced some tough opposition from MLAs within her party’s caucus, including two who crossed the floor (Gene Zwozdesky joined the PCs and Pamela Paul sat as an Independent). She resigned almost immediately after she was unseated in the 2001 election.
Randy Thorsteinson led the Social Credit Party from 1992 to 1999 and the Alberta Alliance from 2003 to 2005.
Randy Thorsteinson (Social Credit leader, 1992 to 1999, Alberta Alliance leader, 2003 to 2005). Even after leading the long-dormant Social Credit Party to win 6.8% of the vote in 1997, Mr. Thorsteinson was at odds with his party after a movement within the party to limit the involvement of members of the Church of Latter-day Saints. Thorsteinson quit the party in April 1999 and was a founder of the Alberta First Party. In 2003, he re-emerged as leader of the Alberta Alliance – the Wildrose Alliance‘s predecessor – and led that party to earn 8.7% of the vote in 2004. He resigned after failing to win a seat in the 2004 election.
Lethbridge MLA Ken Nicol led the Liberals from 2001 to 2004.
Ken Nicol (Liberal leader, 2001 to 2004): Quiet, respected, and more conservative than most of his caucus colleagues, Dr. Nicol reluctantly accepted the leadership from the unseated Ms. MacBeth in 2001. He briefly led the Liberals until internal conflict from within his party and caucus convinced him that running as a federal Liberal candidate might be a better career option. He resigned as MLA in 2004 and was defeated in his bid represent Lethbridge in the House of Commons later that year.
Kevin Taft led the Liberal Party from 2004 to 2008.
Kevin Taft (Liberal leader, 2004 to 2008): The first Liberal leader to increase the party’s seat total since Mr. Decore, Dr. Taft led the Liberals through two elections. He tried to distance the provincial party from its unpopular federal counterparts and while he did not face as much internal dissent from his party and caucus as did his predecessors, he did have the unfortunate task of having to remove MLA Dan Backs from the Liberal caucus. He stepped down as leader after the 2008 election and is currently the opposition Health & Wellness critic.
In a letter emailed to constituency Presidents yesterday, Tony Sansotta announced his resignation as President of the Alberta Liberal Party. In his letter, he refers to events of the past several days in reference to the recent overtures by Liberal leader David Swann to cooperate with other progressive parties as the reason for his resignation. Mr. Sansotta is the second high-profile Liberal to resign from the party since a motion to seek cooperation with other progressive parties was approved at the party’s recent policy convention. In June, Edmonton-Riverview Constituency President Karen Sevcikresigned in protest of the motion.
UPDATE: The interim Liberal Party President is Jody MacPherson, who is also the current Vice President Communications.
In a recent podcast with Vue Weekly Podcast, Mount Royal University Professor Keith Brownsey laid some pretty harsh criticism on Liberal leader David Swann and his letter inviting other parties to discuss cooperation. In the interview Dr. Brownsey went as far to call Dr. Swann “a baffoon” for signing the letters and that “he is probably going to get eaten alive” for this venture. Overall, Dr. Brownsey’s is pretty dismissive of the state of Alberta’s political parties. This is a departure from three years ago when Dr. Brownsey was a keynote speaker at the 2007 Liberal Party policy convention.
Even in the low-stakes world of opposition politics in Alberta, there are many party insiders who cannot fathom changing the comfortable political environment that they have inherited. Perhaps this is why the Wildrose Alliance has excelled. In 2008, I wrote that:
Party archetypes in both camps really need to put aside their biases and prejudices and take a serious and objective look at why their parties are not connecting with Albertans.
Of course, Dr. Brownsey’s opinion is that of one man, but more than two years later and already into the next election cycle, perhaps he is correct in stating that it is too late to save the traditional political parties.
Alberta doing it different.
Alberta is the anomaly among Western Provinces. In 1921, Albertans abandoned the traditional Liberal-Conservative options for the United Farmers of Alberta. We once again turned away from the traditional by electing the Social Credit Partyin 1936. It was only in 1971 that Albertans elected another political party into government that had connections to a traditional federal party in Ottawa.
Albertans have elected parties with large majorities since 1905, but it was only starting with the 1986 election that Alberta’s political environment began to closer resemble that of federal Ottawa by electing a large majority of PC MLAs, with a medium to minor opposition of Liberal and NDP MLAs. Other Western Provinces have abandoned the traditional PC-Liberal-NDP balance for a variety of two party systems. British Columbia has the conservative Liberals and social democratic NDP. Saskatchewan has the conservative Saskatchewan Party and the social democratic NDP. Manitoba has a balance between the PCs and NDP with a marginalized third-place Liberal Party.
After 24-years of traditional parties as the status-quo opposition, maybe Alberta is due for another change.
It is demonizing and loose with the facts, but I cannot help but admire the sophistication and professional branding behind the most recent anti-oilsands campaign to come out of California.
