Friday, October 29, 2004
Look! St. Albert Politics!
Well, in the last few days the numnber of candidates for St. Albert MLA has increased from two to five. In addition to incumbent Mary O'Neill of the Progressive Conservatives and the long-nominated Travis Thompson of the New Democrats, newcomers Jack Flaherty of the Liberals, Conrad Bitangcol of the Greens, and Chris Braiden of the Alberta Alliance have tossed their hats into the ring (it appears that my riding will be without candidates from the Alberta Party, the Separation Party of Alberta, and the Social Credit Party).
The most intriguing of the candidacies is that of Mr. Braiden, a casual acquaintance of mine who I would have deemed an odd fit for the Alliance. In today's Saint City News, he remarked that "if [the party] was ultra-right wing, Chris Braiden would have nothing to do with it," citing his perception of its greater electoral potential as his primary reason for turning to it rather than the Liberals or New Democrats. I happen to think he's wrong on both counts, but I vote the candidate, not the party, so I'll go into this with an open mind.
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Well, in the last few days the numnber of candidates for St. Albert MLA has increased from two to five. In addition to incumbent Mary O'Neill of the Progressive Conservatives and the long-nominated Travis Thompson of the New Democrats, newcomers Jack Flaherty of the Liberals, Conrad Bitangcol of the Greens, and Chris Braiden of the Alberta Alliance have tossed their hats into the ring (it appears that my riding will be without candidates from the Alberta Party, the Separation Party of Alberta, and the Social Credit Party).
The most intriguing of the candidacies is that of Mr. Braiden, a casual acquaintance of mine who I would have deemed an odd fit for the Alliance. In today's Saint City News, he remarked that "if [the party] was ultra-right wing, Chris Braiden would have nothing to do with it," citing his perception of its greater electoral potential as his primary reason for turning to it rather than the Liberals or New Democrats. I happen to think he's wrong on both counts, but I vote the candidate, not the party, so I'll go into this with an open mind.
