Monday is the St. Albert PC delegate selection meeting, where local Progressive Conservatives will select the people they wish to help choose the next leader of the PC party.
A delegated leader selection is different from the past practice of ‘one member, one vote’ where everyone in the party votes to select the new leader. That system was criticized for attracting ‘two-minute Tories’, non-conservatives who wanted a say in who the next premier was going to be. A delegated selection is an attempt to have party faithful select the next leader.
A delegated selection is not a perfect system. In the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock delegate selection meeting, many of those wanting to be delegates did not speak nor did they say who they would vote for. If you are a PC member who just moved to the community, you might not know who to vote for.
At a previous delegate selection meeting in the riding of Spruce Grove-St. Albert, the team for candidate Jason Kenney distributed a list of preferred candidates, but not everyone on that list announced they would vote for Kenney. Some said they were undecided, or some spoke about the values they wanted in a leader. Some of those on Kenney’s list did not make a speech at all. Kenney’s camp projected 11 or 12 delegates were supporting the unite-the-right movement, but leadership candidate Stephen Khan disputed the result.
“We are really happy with our people that are on the slate and really confident that Mr. Kenney's numbers are off,” said Khan, a former St. Albert MLA.
It’s tough to judge how the PC race is going, when many delegates aren’t saying whether they are declared for a certain candidate or undecided. Even the leadership candidates aren’t certain on the outcome of the meetings.
As the PC leadership race continues, there’s been a divide among those who support Kenney’s plan to join forces with the Wildrose Party and ‘renewal’ candidates of Khan, Byron Nelson and Richard Starke. The renewal candidates are essentially vying for the same delegates: the ‘anybody but Kenney’ votes. Kenney is said to be leading the race at the moment – though by how much, is not certain – and the leadership convention is still months away.
Any kind of leadership selection has its pros and cons, but the key to a delegate selection is communication. You need to be able to vote for a delegate who will represent your views. If you wish to represent your constituency as a delegate at the leadership convention, you need to let voters know where you stand.
Whether you will vote for a particular candidate or you plan to make your decision in March, let voters know. There is no point to secrecy and voters need to know what they are voting for.
Being a delegate isn’t a role that can be taken lightly. Every vote counts. For the PC members in this constituency, speak up for what you stand for and let members make an informed decision. Communication is key.
