Premier-designate Danielle Smith is proving her critics right: She doesn’t possess the wisdom to understand the nuances of her new job. Rather than seek a seat in the legislature in a Calgary riding without representation, she’s instead going to run in the constituency of Brooks-Medicine Hat, which is conveniently being vacated by the current MLA, who had previously announced her intention not to seek re-election after serving a single term..Has Smith learned nothing from the debacle of December 2014, when she led eight of her Wildrose Party caucus into the waiting arms of Conservative leader Jim Prentice? Her miscalculation led to the defeat of Prentice a year later, as well as Smith’s personal comeuppance, when she sought the Tory nomination in her hometown of High River..She lost..The optics of Smith’s latest choice are terrible and hold the prospect of again hobbling the new premier. As political wag Marc Henry observed Thursday after Smith’s leadership victory: The party ushered a leader with 51 per cent support out the door and replaced Jason Kenney with Smith, who garnered just 54 per cent of the votes on the sixth and final ballot. It’s not like Smith won by a landslide and can count on brimming support from her party members, never mind ordinary Albertans..Why should the voters of Brooks-Medicine Hat be afforded an upcoming byelection to get Smith into the legislature, when residents of Calgary-Elbow, who have been without representation since the resignation of Doug Schweitzer in August, have been told to wait until the general election next May?.One supposes that when she goes to a restaurant, Smith doesn’t take the first available table. She waits for the diners at a nearby table to clear off for her convenience..Schweitzer’s riding may have changed hands from time to time, but it includes tony neighbourhoods such as Mount Royal and Elbow Park. It would seem to be ripe United Conservative turf. The constituency was represented by former premiers Ralph Klein and Alison Redford, but isn’t apparently suitable for Danielle Smith..We’re to believe that Smith, who lives in High River, is better served by representing a riding in Brooks, rather than one that is near the QEII Highway on her way home from Edmonton, and Calgary’s McDougall Centre, the provincial government’s presence in southern Alberta..The distance between High River and Calgary is 66 kilometres. The distance from High River to Brooks is 184 kilometres. It’s 289 kilometres from her home to Medicine Hat..Will taxpayers be paying for the extra gas and accommodations inherent with such a decision?.The notion of holding a byelection in one riding but not another, is a double standard clearly put in motion to benefit Smith. It is troubling that Smith and her advisers could countenance such discrimination rooted in political convenience..With her decision to spurn Calgary voters, she risks fuelling the same skepticism and cynicism that proved her Achilles heel in 2014’s floor crossing..More worrisome yet, is Smith’s clear reluctance to run in a Calgary seat. It’s understood her anti-vaccine, Alberta-sovereignty platform is best received in rural areas. Such views are less well embraced in metropolitan areas such as Calgary and Edmonton..With her choice, Smith is admitting her policies might be more popular in, say, Brooks, than in Calgary. The problem with such a concession is it doesn’t bode well for the province-wide election in May..Common wisdom holds that political parties need to win two of three voting groups to form government: they consist of Calgary, Edmonton and the rest of Alberta. Her United Conservative Party is not likely to do well in Edmonton, which is painted orange by the NDP. Her party can expect to do well in rural Alberta, where the policies she espouses resonate with many voters..Smith’s turning her back on Calgary and leaving voters unrepresented is not going to be popular in Alberta’s largest city. The new premier and her Calgary caucus may regret her early decision and her policies..David Marsden is a columnist for the Western Standard. He served as managing editor of the Red Deer Advocate and editorial page editor of the Calgary Herald, as well as editor of several British Columbia publications.
Premier-designate Danielle Smith is proving her critics right: She doesn’t possess the wisdom to understand the nuances of her new job. Rather than seek a seat in the legislature in a Calgary riding without representation, she’s instead going to run in the constituency of Brooks-Medicine Hat, which is conveniently being vacated by the current MLA, who had previously announced her intention not to seek re-election after serving a single term..Has Smith learned nothing from the debacle of December 2014, when she led eight of her Wildrose Party caucus into the waiting arms of Conservative leader Jim Prentice? Her miscalculation led to the defeat of Prentice a year later, as well as Smith’s personal comeuppance, when she sought the Tory nomination in her hometown of High River..She lost..The optics of Smith’s latest choice are terrible and hold the prospect of again hobbling the new premier. As political wag Marc Henry observed Thursday after Smith’s leadership victory: The party ushered a leader with 51 per cent support out the door and replaced Jason Kenney with Smith, who garnered just 54 per cent of the votes on the sixth and final ballot. It’s not like Smith won by a landslide and can count on brimming support from her party members, never mind ordinary Albertans..Why should the voters of Brooks-Medicine Hat be afforded an upcoming byelection to get Smith into the legislature, when residents of Calgary-Elbow, who have been without representation since the resignation of Doug Schweitzer in August, have been told to wait until the general election next May?.One supposes that when she goes to a restaurant, Smith doesn’t take the first available table. She waits for the diners at a nearby table to clear off for her convenience..Schweitzer’s riding may have changed hands from time to time, but it includes tony neighbourhoods such as Mount Royal and Elbow Park. It would seem to be ripe United Conservative turf. The constituency was represented by former premiers Ralph Klein and Alison Redford, but isn’t apparently suitable for Danielle Smith..We’re to believe that Smith, who lives in High River, is better served by representing a riding in Brooks, rather than one that is near the QEII Highway on her way home from Edmonton, and Calgary’s McDougall Centre, the provincial government’s presence in southern Alberta..The distance between High River and Calgary is 66 kilometres. The distance from High River to Brooks is 184 kilometres. It’s 289 kilometres from her home to Medicine Hat..Will taxpayers be paying for the extra gas and accommodations inherent with such a decision?.The notion of holding a byelection in one riding but not another, is a double standard clearly put in motion to benefit Smith. It is troubling that Smith and her advisers could countenance such discrimination rooted in political convenience..With her decision to spurn Calgary voters, she risks fuelling the same skepticism and cynicism that proved her Achilles heel in 2014’s floor crossing..More worrisome yet, is Smith’s clear reluctance to run in a Calgary seat. It’s understood her anti-vaccine, Alberta-sovereignty platform is best received in rural areas. Such views are less well embraced in metropolitan areas such as Calgary and Edmonton..With her choice, Smith is admitting her policies might be more popular in, say, Brooks, than in Calgary. The problem with such a concession is it doesn’t bode well for the province-wide election in May..Common wisdom holds that political parties need to win two of three voting groups to form government: they consist of Calgary, Edmonton and the rest of Alberta. Her United Conservative Party is not likely to do well in Edmonton, which is painted orange by the NDP. Her party can expect to do well in rural Alberta, where the policies she espouses resonate with many voters..Smith’s turning her back on Calgary and leaving voters unrepresented is not going to be popular in Alberta’s largest city. The new premier and her Calgary caucus may regret her early decision and her policies..David Marsden is a columnist for the Western Standard. He served as managing editor of the Red Deer Advocate and editorial page editor of the Calgary Herald, as well as editor of several British Columbia publications.
