Raj Sherman is New Alberta Liberal Leader

Last night I attended the Alberta Liberal Party's special event at the University of Alberta to announce their next leader. With slightly more than 54 percent of the vote, that leader is ER doctor and health care crusader Dr. Raj Sherman. It's marvellous that this leadership race attracted more candidates and far more voters than our last race. Kudos to all the candidates, their volunteers, the Alberta Liberal Party staff and volunteers who made this very successful race possible. The hard work continues...

Here are some scenes from yesterday's event:

Edmonton-Riverview ALP candidate Arif Khan and his wife Nausheen.

The awesome Avril McCalla and Lethbridge-East MLA Bridget Pastoor.

The passionately purple "Laurie4Leader" buttons advertising Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman's campaign.

Leadership candidate Bruce Payne.

Renowned Edmonton blogger Dave Cournoyer, aka daveberta, was on hand to chronicle the event.

GQ model John "The" Santos was kind enough to pose.

Bruce Payne campaign slogan on a t-shirt.

Veteran MLA Hugh MacDonald finished a strong second.

PR guru Justin Archer.

Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman and her spouse Ben Henderson, one of Edmonton's city councillors.

Calgary-Buffalo MLA Kent Hehr and a pair of young Bruce Payne supporters.

ALP volunteer and former federal Liberal candidate Zack Siezmagraff was on hand to help ensure the proceedings ran smoothly.

The event's Calgary contingent included Neil Mackie, Jody MacPherson and Kent Hehr.

Josipa Petrunic was instrumental in organizing the race.

Outgoing ALP Leader Dr. David Swann delivered his last speech in that role yesterday, urging everyone to unite behind the new leader.

"Team Raj" supporters reacted with glee to the announcement of their candidate's decisive first-ballot victory.

Dr. Sherman on his way to the stage to deliver his acceptance speech.

Calgary-McCall MLA Darshan Kang seemed pleased with the results.

Media attention was intense, and Sherman was swarmed by reporters after his acceptance speech.

Best of all, I had the chance to visit briefly with some old friends who've moved on from the Alberta Liberal Caucus, including Tanara McLean and Kim Dewar.

All in all, it was an exciting day, the second leadership race I've attended and certainly the most dynamic and competitive so far. I look forward to working with Dr. Sherman, and hope I can remember to call him Raj...

My First Electronic Ballot

I just finished voting in the 2011 Alberta Liberal Leadership Race. This is the first time that I've ever voted electronically, and as far as I can tell, it worked pretty smoothly: I was snail-mailed a unique PIN along with the URL of a special website set up for the vote. I had to pass a CAPTCHA to ensure that I was a real person and not a robot attempting to subvert the vote; then, I was asked to rank my choices on the preferential ballot.

I've seen a few complaints on Twitter and FaceBook from Liberals (and others) disgruntled that Dr. Raj Sherman appeared at the top of the ballot, instead of at the bottom, where traditional alphabetic ordering would place him. At first this concerned me as well, but when I was presented with my ballot, the candidates were ordered as follows:

Laurie BLAKEMAN
Bruce PAYNE
Dr. Raj SHERMAN
Hugh MACDONALD
Bill HARVIE

That's not alphabetical order, but nor is Sherman at the top of the list. This suggests to me that the candidates are ordered randomly, and that each voter sees one arrangement of however many mathematical permutations there are of those five names. I have no idea what the paper ballots will look like, of course; I would imagine they're going to be sorted alphabetically.

Whatever the outcome of the race, I'm excited by the Alberta Liberals' efforts to make voting more accessible. My snail-mail voting instruction sheet also included options to vote by telephone, and of course people can still vote in person on September 10th if they choose to do so.

If you're an Alberta Liberal Party member or Registered Supporter and haven't yet voted, I encourage you to do so. It's fast, easy, and above all, satisfying to know that you've performed an important civic duty.

You Pick Earl's Next Boss

Earlier this summer, the provincial Liberal party made it possible for any Albertan to vote in our leadership race, and you don't even have to join the party to do so. Since I work for the Official Opposition, that means that you have an opportunity not only to pick the next Leader of the Alberta Liberals, but also to choose my next boss!

Registering to vote in the race is easy. Just fill in this form. Then research the five Alberta Liberal leadership candidates before making your choice. Here are the contenders, in democratic alphabetical order:

Laurie Blakeman

Bill Harvie

Hugh MacDonald

Bruce Payne

Raj Sherman

Whether you're a Liberal or not, this is an opportunity to have a real impact on the shape of our legislature. Make sure to sign up before August 19th if you want to vote by mail, or before September 6th if you want to vote in person. The Alberta Liberal Party will communicate all the details.

Reimagining Politics Alberta Liberal Party Style

This weekend Sylvia and I drove to Calgary to take part in the Alberta Liberal Party's annual convention, themed "Politics Reimagined." Less than two percent of Canadians belong to a political party, so much of what follows may seem a little arcane. But the decisions made by party members often have consequences that reach far beyond the relatively tiny circle of partisans. I think that's especially true in the case of the changes wrought by Alberta Liberals this weekend, which have made the ALP the most open party in Canada.

Leadership hopeful Bruce Payne gives fellow leadership candidate Raj Sherman a thumbs-up.

The most dramatic change is the creation of a new membership category - the "registered supporter." In other political parties, citizens must become party members and pay membership fees in order to be eligible to vote in leadership races. Not so for the Alberta Liberals! Now any Albertan can vote in our current and future leadership races, without needing to become a member.

I'm quite proud of this innovation, because it recognizes that most Canadians simply aren't comfortable tying themselves to one party or another - probably a reflection of our common desire to get along with as little acrimony as possible. This resolution recognizes that reality, welcoming anyone to participate without requiring anything more than contact information.

Some pundits are already saying that this change is risky, that it leaves the ALP prone to hijacking by hostile interests. But I don't think these fears are terribly troubling. If the Wildrose or the Progressive Conservatives wanted to stir up trouble, they have the funds to buy thousands of memberships; money is no barrier. Furthermore, these kind of shenanigans usually involve hundreds or thousands of people trying to guess who would be the weakest leadership candidate and voting for that person to sabotage the other party come the general election. But who's to say that they'll guess correctly? Perhaps they'll choose someone who really resonates with voters, despite all expectations.

Even if there were any merit to this argument, I think it's worth the risk. And shouldn't democratic principles include the right to vote across a spectrum of contests? I wouldn't mind having a say in the election of the next PC party leader, the next New Democrat Leader, the next Wildrose Leader. If we all had that power, wouldn't we all be prone to picking the best possible choice for each party? That way, no matter which party wins the general election, we wind up with the best possible Premier. I think that possibility might improve turnout considerably!

For more information on the groundbreaking resolutions passed at the convention, I invite you to read ALP Executive Director Corey Hogan's slick booklet explaining the changes. In the meantime, here are some more images from the convention:

Sylvia and I took a break to explore the shopping opportunities at Cross Iron Mills.

Raj Sherman officially launched his leadership campaign at the convention.

...unfortunately his sign started to come loose halfway through his speech. But Raj was unflappable.

Payne campaign director Neil Mackie speaks with MLA Bridget Pastoor as Andrew Fisher drops a photobomb.

Sylvia and Kim enjoy one of the hospitality suites hosted by the leadership candidates.