Danielle Smith - Speech at Leadership Convention

Leadership Convention Agenda & Voting Information

WILDROSE ALLIANCE LEADERSHIP CONVENTION

Saturday, October 17th, 2009
Holiday Inn Convention Centre
4520 76TH AVE Edmonton
Hotel Front Desk: 1-780-468-5400

Registration open to members and nonmembers for $30,
by pre-registration or at venue. Accredited media ~ free.


8 a.m.
Registration opens

9 a.m.
Welcome by party President Jeff Callaway
Speeches by both candidates

10 a.m.
Concurrent sessions:
Campaigning – Richard Dur, campaign manager Calgary Glenmore (1 hr – members only)
Panel Discussion on constituency-building (1 hr – members only)
Social media – Ken Chapman, Cambridge Strategies Inc (2 hrs – members and nonmembers)

NOON
Leadership poll closes
Lunch served
Speech by outgoing Wildrose Alliance leader Paul Hinman, MLA Calgary Glenmore

1 p.m.
Health policy – Nadeem Esmail, Fraser Institute

Between 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Announcement of the vote
Concession speech
Acceptance speech
Closing comments, Jeff Callaway
Media scrum

We expect this event to be finished by 5 p.m. or before, depending on the time required to verify and count ballots.

~~~~~~~~~~

Reminder if you have not yet returned your ballot you still have time with these options.

In Calgary you can drop them off at our office (address below). We will be open 9 AM to 9 PM on Thursday and from 9 AM to 5 PM on Friday.

In Edmonton you can drop them off at the front desk of the Holiday Inn Convention Centre (address above) until Friday. On Saturday they can be placed right in the ballot box at the convention.

If you are not close to either Edmonton or Calgary the Leadership Candidates have each organized volunteers across the province to act as drop off locations and they will deliver your ballot to the convention.

Here are the links to each of their sites.

Drop off locations organized by Danielle Smith campaign.

Drop off locations organized by Mark Dyrholm campaign.

For all ballot inquiries please email me.

Regards,
Jane Morgan,
Executive Director

Wildrose Alliance Party
#3, 1303 - 44 Ave NE
Calgary, AB T2E 6L5

Toll free: 1-888-262-1888
Phone: (403) 769-0999
Fax: 1-866-620-4791

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.

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

Leadership Candidates, Debates & Voting Procedure

This news release will be going out later today.

Wildrose Alliance Announces Leadership Candidate Jeff Willerton Joins Race and Leadership Debate Schedule

For Immediate Release

The Wildrose Alliance announces that Jeff Willerton is an Official Candidate for the Leadership of the Party. The Party is very pleased to have three candidates bring a diverse range of experience and talent to the race and look forward to their contributions toward building the Party and bringing back the Alberta Advantage.

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

Mark Dyrholm:
Website
Phone: 403-203-3456
Fax: 403-273-2940
Email: membership@markdyrholm.ca

Danielle Smith:
Website
Phone: 403-256-0444
Email: info@daniellesmith.ca

Jeff Willerton:
Website
Phone: 403-875-1619
Email: j.willerton@fixcanada.ca

The deadline for fulfilling Leadership Candidacy requirements is September 1.

Debate Schedule:

There are four Leadership debates scheduled and follow up on the 12 Townhalls the Party held this spring to engage and listen to Albertan’s concerns.

September 8, 7:30pm,

Grande Prairie Inn,
11633 - 100 Street
Grande Prairie
Phone: 780-532-5221

September 10, 7:30pm,

Four Points Sheraton,
7230 Argyll Road
Edmonton
Phone: 780-465-7931

September 15, 7:30pm,

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

September 16, 7:30pm,

Blackfoot Inn,
5940 Blackfoot Trail SE
Calgary
Phone: 1-800-661-1151

Leadership Convention:

October 17, beginning at 9:00 am,

Holiday Inn and Convention Center,
4520-76 Ave
Edmonton

Phone: 780-468-5400

Voting Procedure:

In order to vote, a person must be a member in good standing as of October 3rd, 2009. Members may vote either by attending the Leadership Convention in Edmonton on October 17th, or by mail-in ballot. The vote will be done as follows:

If there is no clear majority on the first ballot, the nominee with the lowest share of the vote will be dropped. The ballots of members attending the convention will be set aside, and they will be permitted to cast new ballots in each round. This will continue until a majority is achieved.

Members using mail-in ballots will be asked to rank the candidates in order of preference. Mail-in ballots first choice will be used in each ballot (1st, 2nd.etc) until their first choice candidate is eliminated, and the same with their 2nd choice, and so on, if necessary. This process will continue until a majority is achieved.

Members who attend the Convention must exchange their mail-in ballot for a convention ballot at the venue. Members whose mail-in ballot has been received for counting will NOT be permitted to vote at the convention.

For further information, please contact:
John Hilton-O’Brien
Leadership Committee, Chair
john.hiltonobrien@wildrosealliance.ca