Tuesday, September 21, 2004
I hate young people
Hot on the heels of today's interview with Canada Now about another blog to which I contribute, I arrived home this evening to find that our household had received its first piece of campaign literature, from none other than noted twenty year old dogmatic twit and candidate for St. Albert Council Michael Cooper.
Sitting on my place, the flyer had two lines highlighted by my sister: "committed to the completion of the western bypass by 2006", and "work to ensure that green spaces are protected and enhanced". She also attached to it a Post It note, reading "I have concluded that Michael Cooper is a stupid poop head." While my initial inclination would certainly be to agree (on the basis of past experience), I've decided to give him the opportunity to respond to the following e-mail:
In other news, the mayoral race in St. Albert has expanded to five. In addition to previously-announced candidates Richard Plain (incumbent), Paul Chalifoux (Plain's predecessor, defeated in 2001), and Lynda Moffat (current Councillor, elected under the slogan "Moffat Means It"), Dave Burkhart and John Smith entered the fray as nomination day surprises. The latter will be familiar to regular readers of my municipal politics posts (Ha! I wish!) as the fellow who announced in 2001 that he was running for alderman, didn't put up any signs, missed the forum, and finished a distant fifteenth - apparently, he decided that the time is now ripe for a run at the top job. Burkhart's a little more intriguing - he's been a prominent and active opponent of the West Road and marijuana criminalization. He'd be a longshot (he's one of a group that includes Elke Blodgett and Stuart Loomis who are widely perceived as being bitter and unwilling to accept that they've lost), but in a race with three very credible pro-road candidates, maybe a vote split. . . nah, who am I kidding? Besides, he'll probably get my vote, which is the kiss of death.
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Hot on the heels of today's interview with Canada Now about another blog to which I contribute, I arrived home this evening to find that our household had received its first piece of campaign literature, from none other than noted twenty year old dogmatic twit and candidate for St. Albert Council Michael Cooper.
Sitting on my place, the flyer had two lines highlighted by my sister: "committed to the completion of the western bypass by 2006", and "work to ensure that green spaces are protected and enhanced". She also attached to it a Post It note, reading "I have concluded that Michael Cooper is a stupid poop head." While my initial inclination would certainly be to agree (on the basis of past experience), I've decided to give him the opportunity to respond to the following e-mail:
Dear Mr. Cooper,
I am a St. Albert voter. Having seen you in action on a few different occasions during the last few years, I have always had the impression that you would rather recite the policy of the Conservative Party (formerly the Canadian Alliance) than actually do any thinking on your own.
Later on, once I manage to accumulate contact information for many more candidates, I will be sending out an e-mail with some questions specific to municipal politics. In the meantime, however, I would like to give you the opportunity to refute my first impressions of you. With that in mind, would you name, say, three areas on which you disagree with Conservative Party policy? Please note that I don't particularily care about what these are, because this isn't a federal election; rather, I'm only trying to ascertain whether or not you have any positions that are distinct from Conservative Party policy.
Finally, please note that I will consider anything you write in response to be public.
Regards,
Steve Smith
In other news, the mayoral race in St. Albert has expanded to five. In addition to previously-announced candidates Richard Plain (incumbent), Paul Chalifoux (Plain's predecessor, defeated in 2001), and Lynda Moffat (current Councillor, elected under the slogan "Moffat Means It"), Dave Burkhart and John Smith entered the fray as nomination day surprises. The latter will be familiar to regular readers of my municipal politics posts (Ha! I wish!) as the fellow who announced in 2001 that he was running for alderman, didn't put up any signs, missed the forum, and finished a distant fifteenth - apparently, he decided that the time is now ripe for a run at the top job. Burkhart's a little more intriguing - he's been a prominent and active opponent of the West Road and marijuana criminalization. He'd be a longshot (he's one of a group that includes Elke Blodgett and Stuart Loomis who are widely perceived as being bitter and unwilling to accept that they've lost), but in a race with three very credible pro-road candidates, maybe a vote split. . . nah, who am I kidding? Besides, he'll probably get my vote, which is the kiss of death.
