It's Time to Preside Over a New Pride in Being Albertan

Today in an Edmonton Journal Op/Ed piece Preston Manning asks the question “Should the political energies of Albertans be directed toward revitalizing the governing Progressive Conservative Party or toward replacing it...?”

Tammy Maloney blogged about working to change the current government whether you are interested in the Alberta Party or the Alliance. She makes a good case for supporting either party as long as we agree that it is time to change out old for new.

Even Ted Morton thinks that it’s time to build new as he states that it’s time to bring the Alliance and the P.C.’s back together, back to the ‘mothership’ as it were; although I don’t really see that as new, I think you get the idea.

I don’t think that many Albertans would disagree that at the very least this is a government in disarray as Danielle Smith stated this week.

One of the reasons that I have personally aligned my political values with the Alberta Party is because I don’t find it hard to disagree with any of them on this point. Yes Mister Manning it is time for change, it is time to replace our current government. Yes, Ms. Smith Albertans do have “real uncertainty...”

It is time to stop putting up with the internal bickering and constant positioning of the P.C. MLA’s as they strive to retain power rather than serve the citizens that elected them.

It is time to elect a government that has its primary mission clearly aligned to serve the citizens of Alberta. It is time for the Alberta Party.

Sue Huff, the Interim Leader of the Alberta Party stated today the “We need to be courageous & dream bigger, if not for ourselves, then for our children & grandchildren. “ This statement alone encourages me to look beyond the old and to build new.

While it is true that the Alberta Party is still in the early stages of developing policy, I like that the policy that is under consideration is going to be based in collaboration and founded on what is in the best interests of the citizens of Alberta.

I also believe that we build policy from the perspective of how Alberta can be not just the best IN Canada but the best FOR Canada.  That is where true leadership resides, that is where true Citizen Servant Leaders should work, and that is what the Alberta Party is doing.

I am not afraid of ‘inspirational and aspirational leadership’. It is often in the striving to achieve that true progress is made.  I like a political party that is able to attract socialist and capitalist thinkers. A party that is able and willing to accept liberal, conservative, independent and otherwise aligned political activists. A party that is willing to do politics differently, a party that is willing to do governance differently.

Over the next few weeks I am going to be outlining my thoughts in this blog on the type of policies that the next Leader of the Alberta Party should be considering, the things that I would want to do or see done if I were the leader of this party.

As I reflect on how politics and governance have devolved in Alberta to this state of disarray and confusion I can’t help but think of what it was the Peter Lougheed helped to build back in 1971. Jeremy Barretto is blogging on his ideas of what Mr. Lougheed would do and I must say that I agree wholeheartedly with Barretto’s ideas.

It is time to “Preside over a new pride in being Albertan” as Barretto states. I don’t see that happening under our current government and now, once again, we need to build.

Finally, I have to say that it is people like Tammy and Jeremy that inspire me to continue this journey that I find myself on. They are so representative of the Alberta that can be. We just need to find a way to get there. And for me that way is the Alberta Party.

It’s a New Day, Are We Ready for a New Way?

As political bombshells are falling in Alberta I have been reflecting on the opportunities that are being presented to us as citizens that choose to engage and fulfill our role in the democratic process.

Yesterday, someone left a note on my desk and it inspired me, so I thought that I would share it with you. This captured, almost perfectly, my sense of purpose found within the Alberta Party.

An Excerpt from

Leading With Passion

By John Murphy

Light a match in a dark room and watch as the light instantly overcomes the darkness.

Observe the power and grace of that single, solitary flame dancing with life. Now light several candles or kindle a fire and experience the added warmth and comfort extending from that first, vulnerable flame through others. This is the heart and soul of leadership – the essence of inspiring others. It is about courageously casting off fear, doubt and limiting beliefs and giving people a sense of hope, optimism and accomplishment. It is about bringing light into a world of uncertainty and inspiring others to do the same. This is what we call passion, the fire within.

Passion is a heartfelt energy that flows through us, not from us. It fills our hearts when we allow it to and it inspires others when we share it. It is like sunlight flowing through a doorway that we have just opened. It was always there. It just needed to be accepted and embraced. Under the right conditions, this ''flow'' appears effortless, easy and graceful. It is doing what it is meant to do. It is reminding us that we are meant to be purposeful. We are meant to be positive. We are meant to be passionate. We feel this when we listen to and accept our calling in life. We feel it as inspiration when we open the door of resistance and let it in.

Inspiration springs forth when we allow ourselves to be "in-spirit," aligned with our true essence. Stop and think about it: When you feel truly passionate and inspired about someone or something, what frame of mind are you in? What are you willing to do? What kind of effort are you willing to put forth? How fearful are you? Chances are, you feel motivated to do whatever it takes, without fear or doubt, to turn your vision into reality. You grow in confidence. You believe you can do it. You are committed from the heart and soul.

It is time to put Alberta first again, rather than the internal party politics of power and control, fear and retribution. I believe that it is time for politicians to be purposeful, positive and passionate about Alberta again.

The Alberta Party is committed to doing politics differently in Alberta. We are committed to strengthening the relationship between our government and the citizens we serve. Unfortunately, too often in Alberta the voices of Alberta’s citizens fall on deaf ears in our legislature, I believe that it is time again for the elected representatives in Government to be our voice into government rather than their voice to us.

The resignation of Premier Stelmach along with the rise of the Alliance has opened up the door for new discussions to take place, let us not allow the governance of Alberta to be defined by the politics of division, the politics of power, the politics of the past. It shouldn’t be about the politics of the right and the left, or worse yet; the politics of the right or the far right. The discussion that we are about to engage in cannot be defined in that narrow context.

Albertans need to step up and re-assume our responsibilities as citizens. Albertans are yearning for Citizen Servant Leaders.  As a friend of mine commented recently, governance is not just Of the People, By the People, For the People – it also needs to be WITH the People. That is the new Alberta that we can build together if we are willing to rise above the politics of the past.

It’s a new day, are we ready for a new way?

Good Governance through Great Leadership

People are pretty cynical about politics in Canada, especially here in Alberta.  Some people really have contempt for elected officials and for candidates. And so, when they find a candidate that seems real to them or a political party that reflects their perspective it can be really powerful.

So, to paraphrase Jeff Blodgett, instead of just talking about policy positions or trying to be all things to all people, I like to talk about our convictions, our values, what we hold dear, how did we come to hold these and why someone is running for office, what's their motivation for running? Those things are really important, and in fact, I believe that most voters are looking for that, as opposed to whether or not the person is on the right side of a given issue.

So it was with great interest that I read the following statement made by Alberta Party Leader Sue Huff when she was in Hinton; "People always want to know where we fall on the political spectrum," said Huff. "But we are resisting being pigeon-holed. Our opinions will vary from issue to issue. We want to do the same as municipal leaders. Look at what is best for the community."

I couldn’t agree more with Huff’s perspective, what an encouraging message to hear from a provincial political party leader!

 I believe that if we could take the lessons learned and the experience gained at a municipal level and apply it at the provincial level, our province would be much more effectively governed.

I would, however, add to her statement and say further, “Our discussions will take place publically just like they do at a municipal level and we will encourage our members to share diverse opinions and perspectives during our public discussions.” Finally I would add “and when we are making decisions, we will make our decisions based on what is in the best interests of the community as a whole (sec 153a).”

For those that think that the confidentiality of Caucus is what allows the tough discussions to take place I would say “have you tried this?” The Municipal Governance Act enables, nay – demands, open, transparent and accountable public discussion yet still ensures that confidentiality exists where and when it is needed in order to allow good governance to take place and where legalities necessitate it.

That’s why I believe that municipal politics has so much to offer at the provincial level.

 Not only are we mandated  (sec 244) through the Act to have balanced budgets and always spend within our means, as limited as they are, as elected leaders we must identify which services are most needed at a community level, which services are most desired in the community and then make the decisions as to which services we are going to provide, and then we are held responsible – every day, in our shops and work places, for our leadership and decisions. But, and here’s the kicker, we do all of this in the public forum, in open meetings, under the watchful eye of the citizens that we serve.

Almost all of our meetings are open to the public (sec 197/198). At the local level it is the norm to have open, public meetings, not the exception. Any time that a Council gets together in numbers large enough to form quorum, then the public must be notified, and invited (sec 195).

At the local level we face the same pressures that a provincial government is faced with. We have special interest groups trying to influence our decisions, we have limited funds with which to balance needed services and the associated budgets, we deal with public security, social services, land management and planning, we provide public services and governance and  we have differing opinions on how to solve our community concerns.  We too have political pressures, but we deal with those pressures in the public forum - and that is good for democracy.

As a citizen servant leader I encourage our municipal council to consider the diversity of opinion and perspectives that our citizenry would have on any given subject, after all, it is rare indeed that as citizens we all share the same opinion on the issues that affect our community and ourselves personally. A person just needs to go down to one of our local coffee shops if they want to hear diversity of opinion.

As the head of council my job as Mayor is to ensure that each of our councillors has the opportunity to be heard on any given subject and I especially defend the right of the differing point of view to be brought forward for consideration. I believe that diversity is strength.

I believe that the most important role of leadership in governance is not to state the leader’s position and then try to bend colleagues to his will, but rather to encourage the debate, find the common ground, seek the intent, judge the commitment and encourage collaboration. And once this is done and a decision has been reached, the leader’s role is then to put voice to the will of the majority and represent the decision of government as a whole, and by doing so, represent the citizens that we were elected to serve.

Good governance should reflect the broad range of public opinion and perspective that is embodied in the general population, and we should bring that diversity to the debate when setting policy.

Great leadership has the confidence to encourage that debate to happen, not just set a mandate and expect others to follow. Leaders should vigorously seek that diversity, to actively gather strong, opinionated people around them to discuss the issues of the day, and rather than mandate the will of the leader, reflect the will of the majority. And of course, when the time for discussion is over, then the leader must end the discussion and move to action, after all the purpose of leadership is to lead.

Today, more than ever, strong leadership is needed in Alberta. Leadership that can be surrounded by strong individuals, each with diverse perspective and each willing to stand up and speak for what they believe is in the best interests of the citizens they serve.

I believe that this leadership can be found at the local level, at the municipal level, and I applaud Sue Huff and the Alberta Party for bringing this discussion to the Provincial level for consideration. The timing couldn’t be better.