Bye, Raj

It's easy to forget it now, but once upon a time Dr. Raj Sherman was perhaps the best-known politician in Alberta, back when he was a rabble-rousing backbencher in Premier Ed Stelmach's Progressive Conservative caucus. Raj defended public health care with great passion and sincerity, and he paid a heavy political price for it.

Raj was the third and last of the three doctors I worked for who led the Alberta Liberal Caucus, once Alberta's Official Opposition, now, it has to be said, a small rump third party. (The first two were Drs. Taft and Swann.) I didn't work with Raj as long as I had with either Kevin or David, but I got to know him well enough to say that his heart was in the right place and he really cared about Albertans, particularly the vulnerable. In a province that vilifies Liberals, Raj took on the challenge of the hardest, most thankless job in Canadian politics, and for that alone I think he deserves thanks.

I shot the photo above on February 1, 2012, a few months before leaving politics behind. It was a pretty nice day for February in Alberta, and Raj was patient and pleasant as I fought with the light; I'm an amateur photographer, not a professional, and I appreciated his forbearance.

Today Raj resigned as Leader of the Alberta Liberals. Whatever he does next, I hope Dr. Sherman finds happiness and fulfillment. He tried to build a better Alberta, and I think that's pretty noble. 

A Dark Day for Democracy in Alberta

Today Alberta's Leader of the Official Opposition, along with 8 other Wildrose MLAs, crossed the floor to join the governing Progressive Conservatives. In engineering this cynical ploy for power, both Smith, Prentice and their supporters have shown utter contempt for fundamental democratic principles.

To the best of my knowledge, never before in a parliamentary democracy has any Leader of the Official Opposition abdicated their responsibility with such blatant disregard for common decency.

And yet I place more of the blame on the governing PCs. With a comfortable majority, there was absolutely no reason they should have been party to this. A responsible government founded on principles of respect for voters and the common good would have understood that a strong opposition is good for the province. But Jim Prentice and his supporters proved today that they simply cannot abide opposition. This should anger and terrify anyone who cares about good governance.

I consider myself a democratic socialist, and yet today my greatest sympathies lie with the hundreds of thousands of Albertans who voted for the Wildrose party in the 2012 election. Betrayal is a hard word, but betrayed they were. Should one more Wildrose MLA join the government caucus - and rumors are flying that this will happen soon - then the Alberta Liberals will likely form the Official Opposition once again, despite losing that status in 2012. That outcome flies completely in the face of what voters chose in 2012, and as many readers know I worked for the Alberta Liberal caucus for six and a half years. Despite that, I would be appalled were Raj Sherman to become Leader of the Official Opposition again under these circumstances, even though I consider him a good man with the best interests of Albertans at heart.

(And yes, Raj crossed the floor as well - but he left the government caucus on a matter of true principle, and moved from government to opposition. However else you can characterize that move, it certainly wasn't an obvious grab for power.)

There's one more frightening possibility: perhaps the Premier suspects that Alberta's economy will worsen considerably - so much so that having a viable opposition extant during an economic collapse could actually set the stage for the end of the PC dynasty. In that scenario, this cynical maneuver actually makes sense. And if this supposition proves true, then Albertans should prepare ourselves for hard times indeed, especially if we care about public education, public health care, the arts and the vulnerable.

Even if that dark scenario doesn't come to pass, today Jim Prentice and Danielle Smith told voters that elections don't matter. When the next election comes I sincerely hope Albertans will prove them wrong.

Sherman Style

While I greatly enjoyed my time at the Official Opposition, I always had mixed emotions about one annual project: the video required for the Legislature Press Gallery Christmas party. They were fun to script and shoot, but assembling the required resources always took a disproportionate amount of time and energy at a very busy time of year. So when I congratulate my former colleague Amy McBain for pulling this together, I do so with complete sincerity because I know how much work this sort of thing requires. Good work, Amy! My favourite moment: Dr. Swann's dance in the parking garage.

Kan't Stop the Kanger

Darshan Kang (centre) at his swearing-in ceremony in 2008. Also returning to Legislature are (from left) Kent Hehr, Bridget Pastoor and Laurie Blakeman - though Pastoor returns as a PC MLA. Hehr sometimes affectionately refers to Mr. Kang as "The Kanger."

 Last night I reported that it appeared as though Albertans had elected at least three, possibly four Alberta Liberal MLAs. I'm gratified to report that not only did Raj Sherman indeed emerge victorious in Edmonton-Meadowlark, Darshan Kang has also been reelected by the voters of Calgary-McCall. So by night's end, Albertans re-elected all five Alberta Liberal incumbents. Given a media narrative that pitted Wildrose against Tory while virtually ignoring the other parties, I think that's a pretty good result.

Strategic Terror

Well, yesterday's thoughts on strategic voting created the heaviest traffic flow this blog has ever seen, but it seems few of you agreed with my argument. It would seem that many progressive voters decided to forgive the PC government's many sins rather than take the chance of allowing a Wildrose government to form.

The Alberta Liberal vote has pretty clearly collapsed, reducing our caucus by half for the second election in a row. That's a tough pill for me to swallow, having served the Alberta Liberal Caucus for six years. But the will of the voters trumps my personal disappointment; progressives simply have to work harder and smarter if we want to earn the right to form government.

On a personal level, I'm very happy to see that Albertans have re-elected Laurie Blakeman, Kent Hehr, David Swann and - hopefully - Raj Sherman, who is currently 11 votes ahead with a few polls to go. While we may no longer be the Official Opposition, I have no doubt that these four MLAs will continue to serve our province with distinction. 

Strategic Error

I've been a strategic voter since the federal election in 1993, voting Liberal or NDP depending upon who had the best chance of defeating the Reform/Alliance/Conservative candidate. Since I started working for the province's Official Opposition, I have of course voted consistently for the Alberta Liberals - not merely out of loyalty to my employer, but because I admire and respect the three leaders I've served and their caucuses, and I support the policies they've developed over the years.

But as the Wildrose Alliance surged during the current provincial election, I had a brief moment of weakness: was it time to return to strategic voting to stop a party even worse than the provincial PCs from forming government?

Living as I do in Edmonton-Meadowlark, Dr. Raj Sherman's constituency, there was never any question that I'd be voting anything but Liberal. But in conversations with progressive friends earlier this month, I admitted that I understood the reasons why they're considering holding their noses and voting PC. Indeed, my friend Stephen has crafted a very reasonable argument to that effect.

It's an argument the panicking PCs are using themselves, pleading with progressives to vote PC in order to stave off the horrifying spectre of a Bible-beating, fiscally libertarian Wildrose administration.

I believe that a Wildrose majority would be a bad outcome for Alberta. But is it really the worst possible outcome? Should progressive Albertans sacrifice their votes for the sake of a PC government that's intimidated health care professionals and municipal officials, consistently underfunded public education, mismanaged public health care into a state of ongoing crisis, solicited and accepted illegal political contributions and exposed teachers to being sued for discussing topics some parents are uncomfortable with? Can a Wildrose government really be worse than this?

Perhaps they can. But consider the consequences if progressive voters flock to the PCs and help re-elect the Redford administration: 

1) Progressive Albertans will lose their already tiny representation in the Alberta Legislature. What a tragedy it would be to lose Laurie Blakeman, a powerful advocate for human rights and the environment. Or Raj Sherman, who risked his career and gave up the cushiest job in politics (PC backbencher) for the most thankless (Leader of the Official Opposition). Or David Swann, a man who has entered war zones to help the world's most vulnerable people. Or Rachel Notley, Kent Hehr, Brian Mason, among others who have spoken out consistently to expose PC corruption, defend vulnerable Albertans and uphold progressive values. Do we really want to sacrifice these people to keep the PCs in power?

2) We'll be sending a message to the PCs that they really can get away with anything, without consequences. Send threatening letters to municipal officials, bully doctors, pass regressive legislation, continue the slow privatization of health care - that's okay with us, because we're afraid that Danielle Smith might be even worse!

3) We'll demoralize ourselves, perhaps forever. If progressive voters give up now, how can we ever believe that one day we might elect a Liberal, NDP, or Alberta Party government - any government that's at least a little more in tune with our values? If we deny the many brave and excellent candidates running for progressive parties our support, how can we expect future progressives to step forward? Running for election is expensive and risky for progressives; I know this from personal experience, having run last time.

Maybe the Liberal or ND or Alberta Party candidate in your riding is a long shot, but doesn't he or she deserve your support if he or she truly reflects your values?

One day, a progressive party of one stripe or another will form government in Alberta. It probably won't be tomorrow, and perhaps not 2016 either. But that day will certainly never come if we vote against our own interests instead of supporting the policies and people we really believe in.

Earl and the Sherman Tank

After many long, long weeks of speculation, the government has finally called Alberta's next provincial election. During campaigns the workload at caucus offices drops considerably, since there are no longer any MLAs; they're all out on the campaign trail (or retiring). So I left a little early today, and on the way out I was lucky enough to stumble across Official Opposition Leader Raj Sherman's campaign truck, affectionately dubbed "the Sherman Tank." Given my thumbs-up and my work history, it's probably no mystery who I'll be supporting this election (I even live in Edmonton-Meadowlark, Sherman's home constituency, so I'll be voting directly for Raj).

But as always the most important thing in any election is that people study the issues and vote on election day - April 23rd. This time around there are plenty of choices; we have traditional parties such as the Alberta Liberals, Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats as well as made-in-Alberta upstarts from both sides of the political spectrum: the Wildrose Alliance on the right and the Alberta Party on the centre-left. The new EverGreen party will be contesting at least a few constituencies as well.

I'm painfully aware that many Canadians have grown cynical about politics and that any entreaties I make can hardly be seen as unbiased; my job, after all, depends upon how well the Alberta Liberals do in this election. (Caucus budgets are set according to how many MLAs each party elects to the legislature.) And yet I will entreat anyway: please vote. In 2008, only 40 percent of Albertans bothered to cast a ballot. The fewer Albertans participate in democracy, the more power is focussed in the hands of the few who choose exercise their democratic rights. We all have a stake in governance, and if after reading the various party platforms you still can't put your trust in any of them, well, you can still send a message by spoiling your ballot.

Canadians in Sherman tanks fought for democracy in World War II. This spring's election in Alberta is part of their legacy. Let's not let them down.

Smokin' New Law

Working in politics can be frustrating when you're in opposition, but once in a blue moon you have a really good day. Today was one of those days - a day when you feel like a true public servant doing good work for the people of Alberta.

In a moment so rare that I've been unable to find out if it's ever happened in Alberta before today, an MLA other than a government member proposed a bill that actually passed third reading in Alberta Legislature. That piece of legislation, Bill 203, was brought to the floor of the assembly by none other than Official Opposition Leader Raj Sherman.

It's a great bill - well, a great law, now - that makes it illegal to smoke in a vehicle while there are minors present, punishable by a $1000 fine on the first offence. As an emergency room doctor, it's only natural that Dr. Sherman brought this bill forward to protect kids from the health hazards of second-hand smoke. Even the PC government found it impossible to vote against this bill!

It's important to note, however, that the government has hedged its bets a little, amending the bill so that it doesn't come into force on January 1, 2013, as Raj intended, but upon "proclamation," which means that the government retains final control over when the law takes effect - if ever, if one were feeling cynical. But I hope that the PCs will see that it doesn't benefit anyone to delay. The sooner smokers break the habit of smoking cars with kids, the better for all concerned.

Open Letter to Albertans from Dr. Raj Sherman

Reposted from the Alberta Liberal Caucus Blog:

Dear Albertans,


Last week’s scathing Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) report on patient safety was a shock to many. Unacceptably long ER wait times, endangerment of patient safety, chaos within the AHS, bullied doctors operating within a climate of fear and intimidation, and “bureaucratic and political interference” – all were detailed in the HQCA report.
For some, the HQCA’s deeply disturbing report into the sorry state of Alberta’s health care system is news. For doctors like me, nurses, and other front-line health care workers, however, this report is both unsurprising and incomplete. We know the true situation is even worse. There is more truth out there.

That is why it is so urgent that a meaningful inquiry into our health care system be conducted as soon as possible. To be truly effective – and to find as much of the truth as possible – I strongly believe this health care inquiry must have the following elements:
• It must be an independent, public judicial inquiry – free of any political interference whatsoever and completely open to the close scrutiny of Albertans;

• It must be empowered to compel testimony from witnesses, especially doctors, most of whom are so gun-shy of AHS that they will not come forward unless subpoenaed;

• It must have all authority to protect these witnesses from punishment for testifying;

• It must be very broad in scope, with the mandate to look into matters beyond just ER wait times, the bullying of doctors, and queue jumping; and

• It must report to the Legislature and not to Cabinet.

Our health care system has been broken by this PC government and it must be examined from all angles. The crisis with our ambulance services must not be left out of this inquiry. The lack of efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability caused by the creation of the AHS must not be left out.

And the appalling lack of family doctors for all Albertans, as well as the lack of home care and long-term care beds for our seniors – and the political reasons for these failures – must not be left out.

We once had the best health care system in Canada. Now we have one of the highest-spending and lowest-performing systems. Albertans deserve the full truth as to why. Albertans also deserve to know why this government has run our health care system into the ground – and to see those responsible held to account.

It is clear that we must fix the health care system. An important step in this direction will be to make the HQCA a truly independent body which reports to the Legislative Assembly – and not to Cabinet. We cannot afford to delay. Lives, quite literally, are at stake.

Sincerely,

Dr. Raj Sherman
Leader of the Official Opposition

Raj Sherman Rallies Striking Hospital Support Workers

This morning hospital support workers at the Royal Alexandra Hospital staged a wildcat strike, which is reportedly already spreading to the University of Alberta hospital and other facilities. Support workers are asking for a three percent raise, which seems pretty reasonable to me given the work they do and the rate of inflation. Official Opposition Leader Raj Sherman is really on fire here - his passion for fairness and the need to support working people really shines through.

Edited to add: the strike is over. 

Good People, Big Ideas, Better Government

Full disclosure: while most of my readers know that I work for the Official Opposition and I've volunteered for the Alberta Liberal Party, I played no role in the development of their just-released platform - aside from contributing one photograph. 

Today the Alberta Liberal Party released its platform for the election to come this spring. Titled simply "Yes" and divided into three sections - Good People, Big Ideas, Better Government - the platform is a bold and brave statement of vision and principle.

Since ALP Leader Raj Sherman is an emergency room doctor, it should come as no surprise that fixing the public health care system is one of the cornerstones of his party's platform. He aims to cut non-emergency surgery wait times to six months, and emergency room treatment within six hours. (A six-hour wait would be a vast improvement compared to what happened to Sylvia back when she broke her leg in 2007.) He also proposed to put decision-making back in the hands of front-line health care professionals and get every Albertan access to a family doctor. And for anyone worried about the state of care for seniors, Sherman is promising to invest heavily in public home care and public long-term care. This is necessary for two reasons: one, Alberta's seniors deserve to live in dignity. And two, caring for seniors appropriately means getting them out of acute care, which frees up hospitals and emergency rooms, unclogging the system - and saving a whole pile of taxpayer money.

For parents, Sherman is promising greater access to quality pre-school and non-profit day care, better parental leave, an end to school fees and a school lunch program.

A post-secondary endowment would eliminate post-secondary tuition.  Other endowments will support the arts and amateur sport.

But how to pay for these promises? Well, according to the conventional wisdom of the post-Reagan era, it's political suicide to campaign on raising taxes. And yet the Alberta Liberals are promising a progressive tax that would increase rates on those earning $100,000 or more and a corporate tax hike of twelve percent, up two from the current rate of ten percent. That adds up to about $1.4 billion in annual revenue. Combined with over $200 million in cuts to wasteful spending, including communications (ulp!), funding for private schools, subsidized carbon capture and storage (CCS), fewer MLAs and fewer government ministries, that's an extra $1.6 billion to help eliminate the deficit and pay for the Liberals' ambitious social programs.

The Alberta Liberals are also proposing a revenue-neutral carbon levy to cap greenhouse gas emissions, reward companies who successfully reduce emissions, and fund green transportation and environmental innovation. (CORRECTION: this proposal is not revenue neutral; it would produce $1.8 billion a year when fully phased in, a four-year process. $900 million would go back to emitters and $900 million would be used to fund green transportation. Thanks to Alex for the correction!)

The platform also features some welcome democratic reforms, chief among them instant run-off elections, an idea I've blogged about before. Alberta Liberals also promise more free votes in the legislature, a simpler and more transparent pay structure for MLAs, truly fixed election dates (as opposed to the "election season" Premier Redford has created), recall legislation and more.

In fact, there's a lot more, including help for the energy sector, a better deal for municipalities, new consumer protections, a plan to decrease power bills...I hope Albertans will read the whole document - and, of course, the platforms of the other parties when they're released.

Will this vision convince Albertans to support the province's most venerable party? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm proud of the party for stepping way outside its comfort zone and wearing its liberal heart on its sleeve. Win or lose, Alberta Liberals can be proud for campaigning on a truly Liberal platform - fiscally responsible while investing in the programs and services that ensure no Albertan is left behind.

'Tis the Season to be Polling

Upon returning home tonight our phone rang and I found myself answering a poll conducted by Chase Research or Chase Marketing - I didn't catch the full name. With a provincial election around the corner these polls will start to fly fast and furious, and I sometimes entertain myself by guessing whether or not the poll was commissioned by a neutral party or hired by a political party in order to push the results in directions favouring that party.

I have a feeling Chase may have been hired by the Wildrosers. I say that because in addition to asking the standard questions - "If an election were held today, would you vote for party a, party b, party c" etc. - they also asked whether or not you had favourable or unfavourable views of Premier Redford and Wildrose leader Danielle Smith. They didn't ask this question about the other party leaders. They also claimed that Premier Redford is considering raising taxes and listed a number of way she might do so. And finally, they asked whether or not the illegal contribution scandal would make you more or less likely to change your vote/make it more or less likely to vote PC, one of the Wildrose party's pet issues. (To be fair, this question might also be asked by a firm hired by the Liberals; we've been pushing the issue pretty hard too.)

Sometime in the next few days, the results of this poll will be released to the media, and more likely than not the media will provide plenty of coverage regardless of whether or not the poll was conducted legitimately. Of course my own analysis is mere conjecture, but if an average citizen like me can smell something fishy about the way these questions were asked, you'd think the fourth estate would start asking questions too.

Merry Christmas from Raj Sherman

While I make my living as a writer, I must say I've enjoyed producing videos such as the one above for the Official Opposition over the years. My main contributions have been writing and directing; I leave the editing, acting and cinematography to more competent folks. Still, I was playing with iMovie yesterday while working on another project for the Official Opposition, and I must say I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. One day I may even attain the status of "amateurish, but workable."

Oh, and Happy Holidays.

Rajey

Every year, the Alberta Legislature press gallery and each caucus creates an amusing, self-depcrecating video for the press gallery Christmas party. Here's the Official Opposition's 2011 video, a Rocky parody that tells the story of Raj Sherman's unlikely trajectory from Tory backbencer to Leader of the Official Opposition.

All the videos were fun this year, and daveberta has posted the Godzilla-themed Alberta NDP video here.

Press Gallery Christmas Party

I'm up late blogging tonight because I just returned from the annual Alberta Legislature Press Gallery Christmas Party. As noted a couple of posts ago, each caucus in the legislature, along with the press gallery, prepares a self-mocking video for the crowd's amusement, and I must say this year's batch of videos was uniformly entertaining, at least for this particular crowd: people who actually pay attention to provincial politics.

Here are some of images of my colleagues, past and present, who attended the event:

Alex and Raj

Kyle and Rick

Marcella, Stephanie, Jonathan and Melissa

Brian and John

Ashley

Teddy and Carmen

Karin, Kyle and John

John's signature gesture

Earl, Brian and John

A good time was had by all! Or so I assume. People laughed at the videos, anyway!

Raj on Remembrance Day

Today Official Opposition Leader Raj Sherman released a statement to honour Canadian veterans: 

On this day, we bow our heads in silent gratitude for the sacrifices of our veterans. Since Confederation, thousands of Canadians have given their lives or suffered crippling physical and mental wounds to defend our great nation and its freedoms.

In the World Wars, Korea, Afghanistan and in peacekeeping missions around the globe, our veterans have served with great valour, laying down their lives to build a better, freer, more peaceful world. They have defeated tyrants, saved the helpless, and served as our greatest ambassadors to the peoples of the world.

No words or gestures can ever fully capture the magnitude of our debt to our veterans and the men and women currently serving in the armed forces. On behalf of the Official Opposition, it is with the deepest humility and respect that I offer our thanks to Canadian veterans and their families.

We will never forget.

Raj Sherman Nominated as Alberta Liberal Candidate for Edmonton-Meadowlark

Tonight Dr. Raj Sherman was officially named as the Alberta Liberal candidate for Edmonton-Meadowlark. Sherman, of course, was elected as Alberta Liberal Leader just a couple of weeks ago, and tonight he was acclaimed as the party's candidate in the west Edmonton constituency he won as a PC back in 2008. (Somehow I wound up on the constituency executive as Secretary again, as well.)

Dr. Sherman - or Raj, as he insists everyone call him - thanked an enthusiastic and diverse crowd of Albertans and spoke briefly about his vision for Alberta: a focus on the economy, defence of public health care, dignity for seniors, a fiscally responsible government that's responsive to the needs of Albertans.

Several other Alberta Liberal candidates showed up to support Raj, including Rick Miller, candidate for Edmonton-Rutherford.

Raj spent the evening chatting with constituents and answering questions on the economy, crime, health care and agriculture.

I've learned not to try to make predictions about Alberta politics, but Raj is certainly the most dynamic and charismatic figure I've yet worked with and I have feeling that he's going to really shake things up - in a good way.

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.