My last three weeks have become completely absorbed with an intense amount of volunteer management at work and my re-involving myself with the Green Party with a campaign in our imminent future.
As I studied in my masters, people tend to volunteer or stay a volunteer based on relationships with individuals. This is far more common than attraction to policy or pursuit of a specific goal. With that in mind, people that I have had close relationships with asked me if I would help prepare a campaign team for the upcoming federal election for the Green Party in Guelph and I said yes. I had a hard time bringing myself to say no to a group that I like based on problems that I have with leadership at a higher level in the party. So...I predict that in the next six days we'll be off to the races and having a national/provincial/local debate about the following themes:
-Trust: Which party do you think will best represent the politics of pulling together? Do you trust the Harper Government?
-Staying the course or change: Are you happy with the economic recovery? Do you want to risk new leadership? Can you trust Harper? Is Iggy here for you?
-Canada's reputation: Are you happy with how we are known internationally? Have we played a role you like in the Middle East? In Africa? In Japan?
What I continue to like about the Green Party is that as a group they have the potential to answer these questions better than other parties. I look forward to working with John Lawson and the Green campaign team here in Guelph to help spread this message and to hopefully be competitive with Frank Valeriote and the Liberal party on election day!
Green's: Against Attack Ads
The Green Party of Canada (GPC) did something very unusual yesterday: They released a television ad, their first since the 2008 election. For those of you who haven't seen it yet: http://greenparty.ca/change-the-channel.
It's an ad that has inspired a variety of responses from both print and digital media (here, here and here for example).
For my take, I think this ad shows that the Green Party is willing to take a stand on an issue that I am passionate about: That we are unsatisfied with the style of leadership we currently have come to expect from our elected leaders. This advertisement does an excellent job of stating this message clearly and has achieved a high level of earned media for what I'm sure was a reasonable price (there were reports that the ad buy was only $10,000 of air time). I am glad that the party has taken this step.
I think it would be a tremendous step forward if the party is able to augment this with messaging around what the party does stand for. The social media campaign reinforcing the television ad and earned media has so far reinforced that we are against attack ads, but I haven't yet heard what the Green Party of Canada is for?
I'd like to think that the GPC is for the kind of leadership that my neighbourhood association demonstrates. Last night the Hanlon Creek Neighbourhood group went on a 45 minute tangent about how we can work with underprivileged areas of our community to develop a garden basket and cheap/healthy cooking program, seeming to be mostly concerned with how to do the most good without superimposing their will.
I'd like to think that the GPC stands for universal human rights, and that the Canadian government has not just the option but the moral requirement to ensure the people of Libya have these rights.
I hope that we hear from the leadership of the GPC that we are a party that cares not only about ensuring that our economy provides jobs for us now, but that my eventual children's children have jobs...and that this may mean we have to find ways to sacrifice now for the long term greater good.
With this television ad being the first very public messaging being delivered in 3 years, I hope this party has taken a baby step towards telling Canadians who they are.
It's an ad that has inspired a variety of responses from both print and digital media (here, here and here for example).
For my take, I think this ad shows that the Green Party is willing to take a stand on an issue that I am passionate about: That we are unsatisfied with the style of leadership we currently have come to expect from our elected leaders. This advertisement does an excellent job of stating this message clearly and has achieved a high level of earned media for what I'm sure was a reasonable price (there were reports that the ad buy was only $10,000 of air time). I am glad that the party has taken this step.
I think it would be a tremendous step forward if the party is able to augment this with messaging around what the party does stand for. The social media campaign reinforcing the television ad and earned media has so far reinforced that we are against attack ads, but I haven't yet heard what the Green Party of Canada is for?
I'd like to think that the GPC is for the kind of leadership that my neighbourhood association demonstrates. Last night the Hanlon Creek Neighbourhood group went on a 45 minute tangent about how we can work with underprivileged areas of our community to develop a garden basket and cheap/healthy cooking program, seeming to be mostly concerned with how to do the most good without superimposing their will.
I'd like to think that the GPC stands for universal human rights, and that the Canadian government has not just the option but the moral requirement to ensure the people of Libya have these rights.
I hope that we hear from the leadership of the GPC that we are a party that cares not only about ensuring that our economy provides jobs for us now, but that my eventual children's children have jobs...and that this may mean we have to find ways to sacrifice now for the long term greater good.
With this television ad being the first very public messaging being delivered in 3 years, I hope this party has taken a baby step towards telling Canadians who they are.
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