Cat's out of the bag....more ballots have been ordered.

Paul Hinman is obviously very excited these days; not only because of his incredible win in Calgary - Glenmore, but about our incredible growth. Looks like Paul has let some details on our numbers slip in this interview. 

We will be releasing the exact number of ballots mailed for our Leadership Race next week. This will reflect the total number of members as of midnight October 2nd.

I previously shared with you that at the beginning of September we ordered 10,000 ballots. They are being sent out in three batches. Approximately one third were mailed out Thursday, Sept. 24th; another third will go out this Friday, Oct. 2nd.

The last batch will go out Monday October 5th. This will include all memberships sold between September 25 and October 2nd. Based on the momentum we have going our initial estimate of 10K may have been a little shy; so this week we ordered another 5000 to insure we have enough to cover the demand.

Memberships continue to flood in via mail, fax, phone and of course online. Heather and I have been working long hours and as have the two new staff we hired this week. We have also had some great volunteers who are answering our phones, returning calls and completing data entry.  This weekend will be dedicated to the labeling of the final batch to get it mailed out by Monday.

WAP Voting Procedures for Leadership Election

The following email will be sent to members tomorrow morning and posted on our website in due course.

Ballots have started to go out via mail to our members, for the Wildrose Alliance Party’s Leadership vote. They will continue to be mailed out to everyone who is a member by October 2, 2009. If you do not have your ballot by Friday October 9th please contact our office at 1.888.262.1888.


Originally we had three candidates and ballots were to be printed on a preferential template, that is to say members would indicate their first, second and third choice. Now that we have two candidates that is not necessary and a simple “X” beside the candidate of your choice is sufficient.

Since printing was already underway when the third candidate dropped out, we could not change the written instructions, as such an insert was added to the mailer to reflect the changes.

Acceptable ballots will include the following:

- Those marked with one “X” beside either candidate.
- Those marked with a “check mark” beside either candidate.
- Those marked with numbers (ie: 1 and 2) will be a valid ballot. The number “1” being equivalent to a “check mark” or an “X”.


A ballot that has an “X” beside one candidate and a “check mark” beside the other candidate will be considered a spoiled ballot.

Completed ballots can be returned via mail in the envelope provided or you can bring the ballot with you and vote in person at the October 17 Leadership Convention. Ballots must reach our office by close of business (5:00 PM) Friday October 16th.

Regards,
Jane Morgan,
Executive Director

Toll free: 1-888-262-1888
Phone: (403) 769-0999

Video of Calgary forum

Video of the leadership forum held in Calgary is now available on the party website. Just click on link to the right.

Do you want to VOTE? - You must be a member.

The last few weeks have been insanely busy and it is all good....no, it's FANTASTIC !!!

With everyone getting caught up in the excitement I hope no one forgets to purchase their membership in order to be able to vote on October 17 for the next leader of our party. The deadline is just 14 days away.

Here is a great (funny) video to help you to remember do just that by October 2 nd.

Come the 17th Heather and I don't want to be having this conversation with you.



Thanks to CalgaryRants for the video idea. He and I don't see eye-to-eye politically on everything, but we both share a great sense of humor.

Help Wanted - Apply Here

We once again find ourselves in a position of needing more staff.

Our growth has been great with the Leadership race, however Paul Hinman's incredible win in Calgary-Glenmore has caused things to start busting at the seams.  For every phone call we take there are three messages waiting to be returned. Mailed in and online memberships sales are also exploding.

This would be a temporary, part-time position, but could be many hours between now and the Leadership Convention (October 17).

It requires quick and accurate excel skills.
Some telephone interaction.
Other duties will include collating mail outs.

Please send resume and cover letter to jane.morgan@wildrosealliance.ca

We're bbaacckkkkk

By now most of you likely know Paul Hinman is the MLA elect for Calgary – Glenmore and will be heading back to serve in the Legislature. It was an exciting evening as we watched the results being posted on Elections Alberta’s website. And poll after poll Paul was ahead.


Today, reading some of the articles, I had to chuckle a little bit as they reported it as a “slim win” with Paul squeaking past the second place Liberal by 276 votes. Given Paul first won Cardston-Taber-Warner by 139 (2004), then lost it by 39 (2008); a spread of 276 is certainly more comfortable.

The Liberals did not really change their base in Glenmore; it has been in the mid-30’s (percentage) in 2004, 2008 & now 2009. The PC’s on the other hand have taken a huge hit, dropping from 50% down to 25%.

What I found odd last night is that we learned of the other candidates conceding defeat through rather odd means. First was Diane Colley-Urquhart (PC) who “Tweeted” congratulations to Paul; then we learned of Avalon Roberts (Lib) conceding defeat via a “Tweet” from the Calgary Herald. What happened to picking up the phone and making a call to the winning candidate?

Anyway, glad the campaigning is over; please see my previous post for election thank-you. Now we can start concentrating on our other upcoming activities.

Namely the Leadership forums;

September 16, 7:30pm, Calgary
Blackfoot Inn

5940 Blackfoot Trail SE



September 17, 7:30pm, Lethbridge
Balog Cow Palace

Just south of highway #4 on the east side of Lethbridge


Please arrive early to avoid disappointment; space is limited. Memberships will be sold at both, but it is not a requirement to attend.

Audio from the Edmonton forum is available on the party website; scroll down left column to “Listen: Leadership Forum”.

Calgary Glenmore By-election Night Celebration

The Calgary Glenmore by-election night celebration with Paul Hinman will be at:

Carriage House Inn
Victoria Room

9030 MacLeod Trail South

8:00 PM and onward

By-election thank-yous and Leadership ballots

It seems the busy times in our office our never ending. Once again I find myself very thankful for the skills and dedication of Heather, our Office Administrator.


Events of the past week included two Leadership Candidate forums (Grande Prairie & Edmonton) and an all candidates debate in Calgary Glenmore. This coming week will bring two more Leadership Candidate forums (Calgary & Lethbridge) and of course tomorrow is voting day in Calgary Glenmore. With all this on the go Heather is still happily processing new memberships and putting the finishing touches on the Leadership ballot mail out. I will get back to this in a moment.

First I would like everyone to join me in congratulating Paul Hinman on his amazing dedication and his tireless work in Calgary Glenmore. He has covered a lot of turf and only missed one day of campaigning (to attend a funeral of a family member). I believe it will be a tight three-way race and it is incredibly difficult to make any predictions.

Special thanks to RD, Julie and Mick; they have been with Paul every step of the way. To the sign crew; Cory, Jamie, Derrick, Doug, Mike S, Chris and many others. To the office crew; Matt, Travis, Chantal and countless others who passed through the doors. To Blaine Maller who graciously let us use his office until we finally found space in the constituency. To all the financial contributors which allowed us to run an amazing campaign.

I am looking forward to Monday night’s results. I am quite confident Paul will have a very strong showing and am of course hopeful that he will once again take a seat in the Legislature.

Our office will be closed on Monday (September 14) to allow all staff to take part in Election Day events. After that we will be back, going full steam ahead towards the Leadership Convention. Late this week we will take delivery of the ballots. Based on our current membership numbers and projected sales between now and October 2nd we have ordered 10,000 ballot packages. (One ballot per package)

Ballots will be first mailed to members in our common database and lastly to members in the candidates' databases. If you have not yet joined I highly recommend you do it sooner rather than wait until the deadline of October 2nd to avoid potential mail delays and disappointment.

Invitation to all Bloggers

I would like to invite Bloggers and Tweets of all political stripes to attend the Wildrose Alliance Leadership Convention in Edmonton October 17 at the Holiday Inn Convention Centre.

For just $30.00 (same price members will pay) you can have lunch, mix, mingle and be there first hand when the results come in!!

You can register online here. Then drop me an email with your blogs URL and I will add a link to your blog on this blog. (Your real name will NOT be revealed.) I will also provide you with the discount code for accommodations at the centre.

Edited to correct: (Your real name will NOT be revealed.)

Not Worth the Paper It's Written on...

Press release from party;

For Immediate Release

The Stelmach PC’s, (Pick and Choose), have announced they are going to unilaterally break the contract they have with the teachers they signed just over a year ago. At the same time, they choose to deliver a golden parachute severance to one former Health Board Executive at the expense of an ailing health system. (Incidentally, the total cost of the severance pay is approximately equivalent to the cost to operate a laser prostate machine for 8 years.)

This is but another example of the PC’s picking and choosing winners and losers. They signed a contract with the Teachers. They broke that: losers. They had contracts with the energy industry. They broke those: losers. They promised to get spending under control every budget. They increased spending every budget. They campaigned on transparency and accountability. Then they gave themselves pay raises and golden parachutes: winners.

Paul Hinman commented “These are examples in the trail of bread crumbs towards the house of deception. When are they going to break the contracts of the nurses? Albertans believe in handshake deals and that someone’s word is their bond. It seems for Premier Stelmach and his government a contract doesn’t mean anything unless you are a PC, (politically connected). Albertans need the right to recall their MLA’s when they fail to work for the people they were elected to represent. It’s time to Send Ed a Message. Breaking contracts is not part of the Alberta Advantage.”

The Wildrose Alliance believes in respecting contract law. The Party believes in allowing voters the ability to recall their elected representatives when they start representing themselves rather than the people that elected them.

Wildrose Alliance Confirms Candidates for Leadership Race

For Immediate Release

The Wildrose Alliance announces there are three Official Candidates for the Leadership of the Party: Mark Dyrholm, Danielle Smith, and Jeff Willerton. The Party is very pleased to have candidates of such high quality seek the leadership of the Party and looks forward to their contributions toward building the Party and bringing back the Alberta Advantage.

The Leadership Convention will be held in Edmonton. Attendees are encouraged to register early online at the Party website but can also register at the Convention.

Information and contact for their campaigns can be found at the following:

Mark Dyrholm:
Internet: http://www.markdyrholm.ca/
Phone: 403-203-3456
Fax: 403-273-2940
Email: membership@markdyrholm.ca

Danielle Smith:
Internet: http://www.daniellesmith.ca/
Phone: 403-256-0444
Email: info@daniellesmith.ca

 Jeff Willerton:
Internet: http://www.willertonforpremier.com/
Phone: 403-875-1619
Email: j.willerton@fixcanada.ca

A series of Leadership Forums are planned for the following dates:

September 8, 7:30pm, Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie Inn
11633 - 100 Street
Phone: 780-532-5221

September 10, 7:30pm, Edmonton
Four Points Sheraton
7230 Argyll Road
Phone: 780-465-7931

September 15, 7:30pm, Lethbridge
Balog Cow Palace
Just south of highway #4 on the east side of Lethbridge
Phone: 403-320-1980

September 16, 7:30pm, Calgary
Blackfoot Inn
5940 Blackfoot Trail SE
Phone: 1-800-661-1151

September 23, 7:30pm, Red Deer
Capri Hotel & Conference Centre
3310 - 50 Ave.
Phone: 403-346-2091

The Leadership Convention will be held in Edmonton on October 17. In order to vote, a person must become a member on or before October 3rd in order to vote for the Leadership. The vote will be a mail-in ballot but can also be cast at the Leadership Convention instead of mailed. Members will need to bring their mail-in ballot to the Convention to exchange for a Convention ballot.

October 17, starting at 9am,
Edmonton Holiday Inn & Convention Center
4520-76 Ave
Phone: 780-468-5400