It Remains Undemolished

Fancy Furniture Famine

Here's the furniture the facilities people moved in to replace the fancy MLA furniture. It was still a pretty nice office. Not shown: sofa. 

Fancy Furniture Feast

For a couple of days in 2008, I had fancy MLA furniture in my office at the Legislature Annex. Then they came and took it away. Which is fair, after all, because the furniture is meant for MLAs and there's only so much of it to go around. Dig the fancy TV I had to monitor Question Period. 

Earl Explains

Or maybe I'm asking for clarification. Alberta Liberal Caucus, 2010. 

Under the Legislature

Mysterious hallway under the Alberta Legislature, circa 2011. 

Dome Through a Dome

Shot on impulse back when I was making regular use of the gym underneath the Alberta Legislature. 

Green Legislature

In September of 2006, I shot some photos around the Alberta Legislature, where I was working at the time. Most turned out normally, but a series of three came out like this: completely green. I shot the images on film, and I'm quite puzzled by this result. 

A Bittersweet Victory, or: Orange with Envy

As a progressive I'm naturally pretty thrilled by Albertans' decision to elect an NDP government in Alberta last night. I believe new premier Rachel Notley has the smarts, compassion and grit to make Alberta a better place. 

But at the same time I'm sad that I wasn't a part of such a historic moment - and I could have been. Back in 2006 I took a job with Kevin Taft's Liberals because I honestly believed that party stood the best chance of toppling the Progressive Conservatives. Even though I considered myself a New Democrat at heart, Taft's Liberals were progressive enough to pass muster, at least when factoring in the pragmatic desire to win government. 

Well, we all know how that turned out. During the six and a half years and two elections I stuck with the Liberals, we went through three leaders and lost a little less than half our MLAs with each passing vote. After the election of 2012 I'd finally had enough, and moved on. 

I'm proud of the work I did for the Liberals, and I don't regret my years with them. But today I wish I'd followed my heart and dreamed bigger. It would have been pretty amazing to be on Notley's team, to experience victory rather than defeat, and to know that victory meant a better tomorrow for Albertans - particularly the vulnerable and disadvantaged, or so I hope and believe. 

While I'm disappointed in myself, my failure of imagination or simple cowardice - call it what you want - merely highlights the virtues of those stalwart New Democrat volunteers and perennial candidates who finally earned their richly deserved rewards last night. I'm very happy for the many Albertans who bled orange for years or even decades for their moment in history. 

Perhaps the most bittersweet moment for me was watching my friend Naomi's sister, Jessica Littlewood, win Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville for the NDP handily. When I ran there in 2008 against Ed Stelmach, he beat me by 10,000 votes. And in a strange coincidence, Naomi shot my official photographs for my campaign. Needless to say I'm delighted for Jessica and Naomi, but it doesn't take any of the sting out of that 2008 loss. 

What's important, though, is not that any particular person or party wins any particular election. What's important is that we govern ourselves with wisdom and caring, and there are people in every political party who really do have the best interests of the people at heart. That's why I'm so happy Liberal leader David Swann held on to his seat last night; he'll continue to be an important voice for public health care and farm worker safety in the Legislature, and this time around the governing party might be more sympathetic to his concerns. We can hope! 

Ruth's Plants

My friend Tanara crafted a cute story for Breakfast Television about Ruth the Legislature Plant Lady. Ruth came in to water the plant in my Official Opposition office once a week, and it was always nice to see her. In Tanara's story you'll learn more about Ruth, and you'll get to see some of the places that became all too familiar to me during my time at the Alberta Legislature: the Lieutenant Governor's office, the Opposition Lounge, the rotunda. Thanks for bringing back some nice memories, Tanara!

Here's Tanara's story.

The End of the Interlude

A little over a year ago I said goodbye to my friends at the Alberta Legislature. I knew it was time to move on, but like any transition the last few months have been spiced with adventure and uncertainty.

In terms of clients, I've had the busiest freelance year of my career, and serving as a guest speaker and instructor at MacEwan University has been an extremely rewarding experience. I saw the east coast of North America for the first time and stood in the shadow of one of the wonders of the world. I wrote several short stories for my own pleasure, won a CBC Canada Writes prize, revisited the Etsell farm and Kenora, finished my library and theatre room and learned how to fix our refrigerator.

Most importantly of all, I spent many hours of quality time with Sylvia. While the stress of unemployment was never far from my mind, this long interlude has been a genuine blessing - a time to recuperate, reassess and realign.

I'll have more to say tomorrow. But for now - I look forward to joining the full-time workforce again.

Women's Sports News!

...or, possibly the unlikeliest title for a My Name is Earl (J. Woods) blog post ever. But yesterday I met my friends Andrea and Greg and their kids Lena and Mitchell at the Legislature; they're here from the UK to visit friends and family. (As an aside, Lena's British accent cracks me up for some reason, particularly when she's displaying her knowledge of Star Wars trivia.)

During the course of our conversation I learned Andrea has started a new blog on the subject - women in sport, that is, not her daughter's accent. The Olympics have certainly given Andrea ample grist for the beginnings of her new mill! I wonder if she'll have anything to say about the Olympic fencer who refused to leave the field of battle because of a disputed call.

In any event (pun intended), visit Women's Sports News for Andrea's coverage of...women in sports!

Farewell to the Legislature

Earlier today I drove out of the Alberta Legislature's east parkade for the last time, and as my car climbed the exit ramp toward the rising garage door, I felt a sudden absence of weight from my heart. Momentarily startled, I clutched my chest and realized that this was no metaphorical weight lifted from my shoulders; rather, my body had just acknowledged the disappearance of my lanyard and legislature ID cards.

For six and a half years, I'd carried those cards around my neck for eight to twelve hours a day, often forgetting to remove my lanyard in public, much to the amusement of my fellow employees.

Only when their negligible presence vanished did I really begin to believe that my tenure with the Alberta Liberal Caucus, until recently Alberta's Official Opposition, was truly over. As I drove past the Legislature Annex and the legislature itself, Al Stewart's "Time Passages" played over my iPhone. I couldn't help but smile to myself; how apropos. My departure unfolded as I'd somehow always imagined it: on a sunny day, without fanfare, quietly sliding over the horizon, the stony legislature dome receding in my rear view mirror. My arrival was similarly low-key...

I'd been interested in the career of Kevin Taft since reading his first book, Shredding the Public Interest. I'd been interested in politics since grade school and Taft's ascension to Official Opposition Leader prompted me to seriously consider joining his team. But at the time I was performing non-partisan public service, writing speeches for Lieutenant Governor Lois Hole. It wasn't until 2005, after Her Honour's death, that I felt free enough to apply for a job with the Alberta Liberal Caucus.

I originally applied for an outreach position in mid-2005, but that wasn't the right fit for me. Fortunately the Liberals held on to my application and gave me a call later that year, asking if I'd be interested in applying for their new communications coordinator position. I was and I did, and I started my new career in opposition politics in early January, 2006. I was pretty starstruck by Kevin and his caucus of 16 MLAs; here they were, the avatars of democracy, men and women from across Alberta (well, from Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge, anyway) chosen by the people to represent their interests in the legislature. I was just as impressed by my co-workers, young, well-educated, politically savvy up-and-comers who shared a passion for progressive politics and the desire to put an end to years of one-party rule in Alberta.

The day-to-day demands of the job left little room for idealism, however. I wet my feet with a few simple brochures, but soon enough I was writing speeches and private member's statements for all of the Liberal MLAs. I quickly learned to write in sixteen different voices - and even retained my sanity while doing so!

As the years went on my range of responsibilities grew. Soon I was writing press releases, managing the caucus website, producing advertisements and branding collateral, writing, producing, directing and editing videos, editing MLA newsletters, writing copy for handouts and learning graphic design on the fly. I tagged along with our outreach team at a number of town halls and forums, meeting with Albertans and learning about their dreams and concerns.

The job itself was enjoyable enough, and rewarding, too; I really felt as though I was helping hundreds of Albertans have their voices heard. But the true gift of the job has been the dozens of remarkable people I've been privileged to work with. Over the years I've seen dozens of incredible Albertans come and go through the caucus offices; in fact my one regret is that turnover remained very high through my tenure. Opposition politics is a bit of a meat grinder, I'm afraid; I outlasted all but two of my co-workers, and only two Liberal MLAs have been with the caucus longer than me.

It may have been tumultuous, but oh, what a time I had. While with the caucus I met two premiers (Klein and Stelmach), several cabinet ministers, ran for office (losing handily by 10,000 votes to Mr. Stelmach), married Sylvia (with none other than Kevin Taft acting as our officiant), met James Cameron and some of my favourite journalists, including Graham Thomson and Don Braid. I appeared as an accidental party spokesman on the eve of the 2008 election over several television and radio outlets, learned how to work with content management systems and thoroughly embarrassed myself with a truly awful video for the 2006 press gallery Christmas party. (If audience response is anything to go by, I redeemed myself with later videos, thank goodness.) At several points the departure of various media liaisons left me as the main contact for the media, and I'm grateful to Alberta's reporters, editors and news directors for their patience. No matter how many balls I was juggling, you were always classy and professional.

If a week is an eternity in politics, what is six and a half years? Well, probably a little too long, at least for me. Politics thrives on new blood, and I'm happy to step aside for fresh perspectives and new approaches. If my time in opposition has taught me anything, it's that the progressive left has to get its act together if it ever wants real change. The same old same old won't cut it anymore, and if that means saying goodbye to some cherished old brands and favourite colours, well, so be it. Politics isn't sports; it's not about which team "wins." It's about protecting civil rights, managing the economy for the betterment of all, protecting the environment, seeing to the needs of the vulnerable and less fortunate...in other words, building a culture and society that leaves no one behind as it moves forward to a better tomorrow.

As I prepare for the next chapter in my life, I'd like to thank all of my colleagues for their support, guidance, patience and friendship: the Alberta Liberal MLAs and their constituency staff, Alberta Liberal Party staff, volunteers and members, infrastructure, IT, custodial and HR staff of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and most of all, my fellow staff members in communications, research, administration and the Leader's Office.

I will never forget you. In memory of the many fine people I served with, I'll close with some images of my favourite moments.

Earl's last day. Thanks to Avril McCalla for shooting the photo.

And that's all there is.