Nepean Carleton Greens

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but certainly in the next decade it will be impossible to get elected on a platform of sustaining federal pensions for civil servants as they existed in 2009. The 300,000 current federal civil servants represent 2% of the 14 million active voters in Canada. The 10 Ottawa-area ridings held by the Liberal, NDP and Conservative parties may vote to protect these pensions with a huge federal public service voter contingent, but 7 out of 308 federal ridings does not make a majority.

Come out 7:00 PM Thursday, June 11 2009 to the Manotick Legion Hall (5550 Ann St.) to nominate our next Green Party candidate for the Nepean Carleton riding.

Jean-Luc Cooke is seeking the nomination to be our next candidate.

See you there

Congratulations Lori on getting 7,880 votes ( Elections Canada Link)). I'm sure she will write something herself thanking everyone who voted and volunteered for her, but on behalf of the Nepean Carleton Green Party Association, I would like to thank her for running such an impressive campaign. Lori received 11% of the popular vote surpassing Phil Brown to come in third to Pierre Poilievre and Ed Mahfouz.

I was asked questions on infrastructure, crime, the carbon tax, and the qualities that "set me apart" from the other candidates. You can read it here: http://www.barrhavenindependent.on.ca/page3.pdf  

I received an automated "poll" twice tonight from Pierre Poilievre's campaign. Wow what are the odds that I would get randomly picked twice for the same poll?

Well better than you would think, it was really a "push poll", a dishonest form of campaigning where the purpose of the "poll" is to spread a message to the person being polled. In this case it was about taxes, and the recording even used the term "Dion tax". That's a dead give-away that it isn't a real poll and is instead trying to con you into listening to a conservative party talking point.

The Ottawa Citizen editorial board has endorsed Lori Gadzala as the best candidate to serve Nepean-Carleton. From the Ottawa Citizen, October 8:

Lori Gadzala is the strongest Green candidate in Ottawa. Indeed, she's one of the strongest local candidates from any party.

She's raised the level of the debate in this campaign, with her down-to-earth humour and serious passion about the issues, whether it's wastewater in Manotick or the global economy. Ms. Gadzala, a business woman, comes from the practical, fiscally responsible side of the Green party. She deserves to represent Nepean-Carleton. Read more here....

From Nepean This Week: 'But the surprise for the evening was the engaging Lori Gadzala of the Green party.'

 Read more: http://www.nepeanthisweek.com/NepeanThisWeek/article/6523 

Ed Mahfouz the Liberal candidate didn't make it to the CBC studio today for the roundtable discussion with Nepean-Carleton candidates. Similarly he was a no-show on Sunday night when the Nepean-Carleton candidates were in the CFRA studio to discuss the issues. He was able to phone in for part of the CFRA show but then apparently had a fundraiser to go to. Perhaps he is too busy boning up on his new party's policies to actually field questions from reporters. The Citizen editorial board last week grilled him repeatedly about his two failed Conservative nomination bids.

From the Ottawa Sun:

Green Party candidates are hitting the streets this week to bring attention to Ottawa's transit woes, trying to convince voters their party has the best plan to reduce the city's traffic nightmares. "We thought it might be a neat time to remind voters we think we've got the best plans for supporting a green city," said Lori Gadzala, the Green Party candidate in Nepean-Carleton. "

Ottawa, Sept. 22 — Ottawa Greens are taking to the city’s clogged roadways this week to make a point — that their party has the best plan for reducing the city’s traffic jams.

Every morning during rush hour this week, Ottawa-area Green candidates and their supporters will be positioned at key intersections, waving homemade placards with tongue-in-cheek slogans that have a serious message: Ottawa urgently needs upgraded transit, and the Greens are best positioned to fix the problem.