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Thursday April 14, 2011
Authorized by the Official Agent for Brent Rathgeber
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Friday March 25, 2011
As I complete this blog on what invariably is the last day of the 40th Parliament, I have mixed emotions.
Certainly the prospect of an imminent election and the possibility of being part of a Majority Government are exhilarating; at the same time, however, I am disappointed that the 40th Parliament terminated and much of its promise will go unfulfilled.
It is true that this Parliament did great work. We have come out of the 2008 "Great Recession" with nearly 500,000 jobs created, a pre-recession unemployment rate and six straight quarters of economic growth. My work on the Justice and Public Safety Committees has similarly been fulfilling. We have ended the 2 for 1 credit for pre-trial custody, abolished the "faint hope clause", brought in minimum mandatory sentences for white collar criminals and ended sentencing discounts for multiple murders. It is a record to be proud of. However, too much of our important anti-crime agenda died on the Order Paper.
Important changes to our pardon system, our youth criminal justice system and working towards a system of earned parole will all have to wait until a later day. Minimum jail sentences for drug dealers and pedophiles will similarly have to wait until a future day.
But it is my sincere hope that that day will come. I hope that a future Parliament will put the rights of victims ahead of the rights of criminals. I believe a future Parliament will understand that the cost of not addressing crime is at least as important as the cost of building prisons and, most importantly, that individuals need to take responsibility for their actions and be accountable for their misdeeds rather than blaming others in a lame attempt to excuse their behaviour.
I hope to be part of that Parliament. I relish the opportunity to take that message and that vision to the constituents of Edmonton-St. Albert and have them decide my future. That day will come; let the campaign to get there begin.
Carpe diem!!
Brent
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Monday April 4, 2011
Week one of the campaign is in the books and predictably it has been eventful. There are always logistical issues at the beginning of a campaign which appear, at times to be overwhelming, but if dealt with incrementally are quite manageable.
We did not get possession of our campaign office until Tuesday (some issue with respect to insurance), no phones until Thursday, furniture arrived on Saturday and I think the Internet finally started connecting yesterday! Given the volume of snow melting in this very pleasant spring, we discovered four leaks in the ceiling and buckets need to be emptied frequently to avoid overflow!!
All of those manageable issues aside, the first week of the campaign has been most positive. Volunteers are coming on board daily. A fundraising letter is generating the necessary funds and most importantly, the candidate has been out door knocking every day. The response at the door has been overwhelmingly positive. The only reportable negatives are icy sidewalks and huge puddles of water at the base of drive ways that are sometimes unavoidable.
The issues vary by neighbourhood and to some extent by city. Certainly in Edmonton, the issues focus around crime, immigration and the economy. St. Albertans are also concerned about the economy, threats to the Oil sands and concerns about high taxes. All are mindful of the good work our government has done on all of those issues and the work I have done on the Justice Committee.
So with everything set up at Campaign Headquarters, week 2 will prove to be even busier. We are officially opening the Campaign Office today (April 4) at 5:30. Come by at 11 Bellerose Drive. Thereafter, phoners will start phoning, canvassers will continue to attempt to identify supporters and for my part, I will keep on knocking on doors---firming up identified supporters and trying to convert the undecided.
It is labour intensive and time consuming, as we will win this thing one voter at a time. But it is worth it. This is an important election as the entire team pulls together to return a Conservative Member of Parliament to Ottawa. Time to get door knocking!!
Carpe diem!!
Brent
We are now officially at the half-way point in the campaign and things are going exceptionally well. The response at the door has been extremely positive (overwhelmingly so in St. Albert)! We have volunteers in sufficient numbers, lawn signs are beginning to emerge now that the snow is (was) melting and we have a competent and dedicated Campaign Manager and team motivated to return a Conservative Member of Parliament to Ottawa.
Now that we are in the second half of the campaign, the focus will change somewhat. Door-knocking 4-6 hours per day will be replaced partially by preparation and attendance at forums and coffee parties. The first of five scheduled forums was held last night as a "Meet and Greet" at the St. Albert Public Library. Today there will be a forum and mock election at Paul Kane High School. Next week is the scheduled Shaw TV Forum, George Simpson School Forum and the biggie: the St. Albert Chamber Debate, Thursday April 21 at the St. Albert Inn.
These forums are an informative and sometimes entertaining venue for assessing the relative strengths of the respective candidates and their platforms. I encourage you to attend one or more if you are undecided in who to support on May 2.
I am pleased as to how the Campaign has rolled out during the first 2 1/2 weeks; I am excited as to how the second half will solidify our support leading to a big ‘Get Out the Vote (GOTV)’ push in the final week. Time to get back to campaigning.........................
Brent
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Thursday April 21, 2011
With only 11 days left before Canada's 41st General Election, the finish line is almost in sight!!
I have knocked on over 5000 doors and the response at those doors has been overwhelmingly positive. The phone banks are busy phoning neighbourhoods I am unable to visit and as I drive around the electoral district, I see an increasing number of blue signs bearing my name and our party logo. Last night 50,000 brochures were delivered to Canada Post and they will be hitting every mailbox in Edmonton-St. Albert mid next week.
All in all, the campaign is going exceptionally well. It is a lot of work, but also a lot of fun with dedicated volunteers coming together for the common purpose of returning a Conservative Member of Parliament to Ottawa.
In the past week, I have participated in five forums including an informal "meet the candidate" event at the St. Albert Public Library and the Shaw TV Forum. Tonight is the premiere forum with all 4 local candidates and hopefully over 200 people assembled at the St. Albert Inn to assess the respective party’s platforms. I look forward to these debates as it allows me to address constituents in larger numbers and discuss issues important to those constituents (rather than talk necessarily about issues of importance to me).
After tonight's forum, I am going to take two of the next four days off from campaigning, as we recognize and honour Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I hope you will do the same--take some time to spend with your friends and family and reflect on the great country we call Canada. Happy Easter!!
Brent
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Friday April 29, 2011
Here we are; three days to go!! It certainly has been an interesting and at times exhausting campaign! The local campaign continues to go well. The lawn sign/ground campaign continues to be strong and response at the door is highly positive.
There does not appear to be any evidence of the so-called “Orange Surge” which appears to be prevalent elsewhere; but one never knows.
I have knocked on almost 10,000 doors; I have no idea how many phone calls have been made. I have been to 10 Seniors Residences and Lodges and have participated in 5 Candidate Forums. At this point the candidate becomes slightly less relevant, as most voters have probably made up their minds. The trick now is GOTV (Get out the Vote)---calls being made to encourage supporters to actually vote, scrutineers at all polling stations to record which identified supporters have actually been to the polls, drivers driving those who require rides to get to the polls and the entire deployment supervised by an Election Day Chair and Campaign Manager.
In all, at least 100 volunteers will be working on Election Day to Get Out the Vote. Their efforts and importance in a successful campaign cannot be overstated.
For my part, although undecided voters are becoming fewer and farther between, I will continue to knock on doors until late Sunday afternoon. Every vote counts and I will campaign until the very end!!
Remember to Vote!!
Brent
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Wednesday May 4, 2011
The election was a great success. Not only did we hold onto this seat, we contributed to a Conservative Majority. I am excited to be a part of that team!!
With 34,468 votes representing 63.5% of the electorate, we improved from our 2008 numbers slightly and I take satisfaction with that!
So many people share in this victory. From my Campaign Manager to the Volunteer Co-ordinator to everyone who pounded signs, made calls or came door knocking, it took all of you to secure that many votes and this victory belongs to all of you.
I would also like to thank the other campaigns and candidates—Kevin Taron, Brian Labelle and Peter Johnston. They all ran good and clean campaigns and deserve credit for their contribution to the democratic process.
I hope to return where we left off in March with respect to advancing our law and order agenda. The Prime Minister has stated that the Government will introduce an omnibus crime bill and pass that package expeditiously. I look forward to being part of the team and hopefully part of the Committee that sees that project through to completion. For many, many, reasons, I look forward to serving in a Conservative Majority Government!
Thank you to all of the volunteers. Thank you to the 34,468 citizens who voted for me and even to those who took the time to vote against me. I am the MP Elect to all who reside in Edmonton-St. Albert. It is an honour to serve and I thank you for your continued support!
Brent
