The balloons fell down and the confetti shot off as the greatest political comeback story in Canadian history, Danielle Smith, took the stage!.I was there on the convention room floor and it was absolutely electric. But if I’m being perfectly honest, this was a political comeback story that wasn’t supposed to happen. We weren’t supposed to win this race. Danielle Smith was not the establishment’s chosen one..We didn’t have the big name firms behind us. We didn’t have Members of Parliament sending out emails on our behalf. We relied on a great candidate, with a few real solid ideas and if one thing is for sure, don’t ever underestimate those two things..Seven years ago, the former opposition leader made a bold move trying to unite two conservative parties that weren’t quite ready. That’s the thing with being decisive though, sometimes your timing is just a bit off. In fact, it was the first question I asked her when she was sitting in my office for coffee back in May. I expected the classic pivot response, but what she offered was really something quite different.."I’m sorry for letting you down."Sincerity is a powerful thing, isn’t it? I happily joined the campaign as her campaign manager. I was introduced to the starting lineup of my core campaign team: An electrician, a nurse, a single mom, a retired bull rider, and a Yak farmer. There were very few politicos, only true believers. Those are the types Danielle attracts, genuine people..We started the campaign in third place, with a lot of folks still reserved and unsure about Danielle Smith. Then a magical thing happened, we shot a video and released a policy called the Alberta Sovereignty Act. It was the talk of the town. The policy was decisive and this time around, her timing was perfect! Alberta seemed to have been waiting for this moment for an eternity.. Matthew AltheimMatthew Altheim .Our ragtag team blitzed the province, filling room after room, and offering a promise that we were going to stand up to Ottawa for our provincial rights, with the goal that this would lead to a more respectful federation. I remember one night we went to Red Deer and more than 400 people came out on a Wednesday night in the middle of a brilliant summer..That’s the first moment I felt like we might actually win this thing, but we had a long way to go from that point. The easy money was still against us..A few weeks later, very few people asked her about that mistake all those years back. They accepted her back and hung onto every word she was saying in those passionate speeches. They loved her and she loved them right back! These were her people now and deep down she knew there was no letting them down..The second biggest challenge facing Danielle was she was not a sitting MLA and had very few relationships with the existing caucus. All the other candidates were in the legislature and could form their teams from within and show a united force to the voter. It is rare, if not impossible, for an outsider to win an election of this calibre. The winner became the premier of Alberta immediately and with that kind of prize, there is no wonder why seven candidates ran in the race..Everyone was hungry for the win, but Danielle Smith has one miraculous skill: She truly listens..I was the fly on the wall to many conversations with Danielle Smith and MLAs, hearing out their concerns and building relationships. Danielle listened. It sounds simple, but it’s not. Leaders generally like to lead and if you look at past premiers, Jason Kenney included, they all have their own styles of leadership and ways to govern. Some are too rigid and some are too loose, when the goal is to find a happy medium..Two MLAs actually changed their mind early on and came over to our camp and soon enough, we had a groundswell of support coming to our team. This included MLAs who were sitting cabinet ministers — truly unheard of! After years of stagnation within caucus, so many of them wanted a refreshing start with a leader who prefers to build bridges rather than walls..The one story you don’t hear about campaigns and politics is how notoriously challenging they are on family life. My wife and I had newborn twins earlier this year, along with raising our three year old son. We have a busy house. My son first met Danielle Smith at a pancake breakfast during a campaign stop. I turned my back and the next minute I looked, there was the future premier and my son, playing a game on the gymnasium floor..Whenever I was with my son and he heard her voice on the phone, he had to speak to his “friend Danielle” and the cool part was, she had all the time in the world for him. Many of those calls ended with Danielle telling me I was working too much and I needed a bit more time off to spend with my family..You see, to Danielle it didn’t matter winning this election if her friends weren’t happy on the road to victory. In the glitz and glamour of campaigning, she always took the time to check in on the welfare of her people. That is why she will be a great premier..As a population, we are so fixated with headlines and flashy stories. Many people thought Danielle Smith won the election because she was bold, had powerful ideas and ran an exceptional campaign. All those things may be true, but something all those headlines miss is what a tremendous human being she is..If you met her on the campaign trail she would give you a hug, learn your name and write down notes about the problem you wanted to tell her. If you were on her team and broke down from the pace of the campaign, she would build you back up. And that right there, that’s why she won this campaign. She leaves a lot of room in her heart for others and is motivated by helping other people..I can’t wait for Alberta, and Canada, to witness that firsthand..Matthew Altheim was campaign manager for Danielle Smith during her successful bid for the leadership of the United Conservative Party.
