Orchard picks Saskachewan
Rumoured Burnaby-New Westminster Liberal candidate David Orchard is heading home to Saskachewan.
Orchard has announced that he will run in Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River where a by-election is due to be called by the end of February. The seat was vacated this summer when first-term Liberal MP Gary Merasty left Parliament a year and a half into the term.
This is an intriguing for several reasons. First Merasty, a Michael Ignatieff supporter, quits, much like fellow Iggy backer and former Vancouver-Quadra Liberal MP Stephen Owen did a month earlier. Second, Orchard is credited as a kingmaker of sorts to Stephane Dion who was able to use the Orchard delegates at last December's leadership vote to slide into third place ahead of Gerard Kennedy, one of the freshest faces in the leadership field. That move allowed Dion to gain support from people who could not support either Ignatieff or Bob Rae, the other frontrunner. Finally, the always controversial Orchard is being forced to contest the nomination. Given the key organization role Orchard played in Dion's victory Dion must be making an effort to let Orchard be identified as the Liberal membership's candidate rather than his candidate - just in case the Saskatchewan farmer's campaign does not mesh well with Dion's Liberal Party in the heavily aboriginal northern riding.
As for Burnaby, we have lost yet another Liberal hopeful - first Joyce Murray manager Gerry Lenoski stepped aside then ex-NDP Steve McClurg followed fast on his heels and now David Orchard. What does Lily Harvey, a businesswoman with degrees in engineering and business, need to do for the party to let her stand as a candidate against NDP incumbent Peter Julian?
Orchard has announced that he will run in Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River where a by-election is due to be called by the end of February. The seat was vacated this summer when first-term Liberal MP Gary Merasty left Parliament a year and a half into the term.
This is an intriguing for several reasons. First Merasty, a Michael Ignatieff supporter, quits, much like fellow Iggy backer and former Vancouver-Quadra Liberal MP Stephen Owen did a month earlier. Second, Orchard is credited as a kingmaker of sorts to Stephane Dion who was able to use the Orchard delegates at last December's leadership vote to slide into third place ahead of Gerard Kennedy, one of the freshest faces in the leadership field. That move allowed Dion to gain support from people who could not support either Ignatieff or Bob Rae, the other frontrunner. Finally, the always controversial Orchard is being forced to contest the nomination. Given the key organization role Orchard played in Dion's victory Dion must be making an effort to let Orchard be identified as the Liberal membership's candidate rather than his candidate - just in case the Saskatchewan farmer's campaign does not mesh well with Dion's Liberal Party in the heavily aboriginal northern riding.
As for Burnaby, we have lost yet another Liberal hopeful - first Joyce Murray manager Gerry Lenoski stepped aside then ex-NDP Steve McClurg followed fast on his heels and now David Orchard. What does Lily Harvey, a businesswoman with degrees in engineering and business, need to do for the party to let her stand as a candidate against NDP incumbent Peter Julian?
posted by Robert Burnaby at 9:08 PM
8 Comments:
"What does Lily Harvey, a businesswoman with degrees in engineering and business, need to do for the party to let her stand as a candidate against NDP incumbent Peter Julian?"
Turn in her Liberal membership would be a good start.
So what really happens to prominent NDP figures who have decided to join the liberals. For one, they can run to become the leader of the party. Peter Julian, an ambitious politican, is not the first person who would like to move away from the backbench as someone like Carole James who gets paid far less and is far more powerful is the kind of figure that he is going after and being a federal NDP MP certainly is the best way to do so. So everyone can certainly understand why such rumors arise.
But in reality, will that work so that our mayor can naturally progress upwards, knowing that the higher he climbs the less influential he becomes. That is certainly hard to say, but it is quite possible if he believes that the government party candidate, very likely a 2nd generation MP, can easily win the race despite him holding the incumbent advantage, sort of like a wave of victories from one coast to the other. Then such a move that risks his political future may make sense. People switch parties to win, not to lose, as many liberals have found out as they try out for tory nomination races.
But who knows, maybe if Lily Harvey can handily defeat the party's establishment's choice as Tony "Mr. Democracy" Kuo in the other Burnaby riding, she just migh have a chance to get onto the national press.
One of the things he should before he runs is teach whoever runs this blog how to spell Saskatchewan.
Perhaps the riding president Gurdev Dhillon should bring out his all time favourite candidate Mary Pynenburg. Yes, the same Mary (dumped by two city halls in last two years) who ran twice in Burnaby-New West unsuccessfully.
She could bring along her husband Jaques Leger (of Qwantlen student funds misuse scandal fame)as her campaign manager.
President Dhillon can ask his friend Gary Begin to once again endorse Pynenburg. Wow, what a great team they make together! they make Brian Mulroney & Alfonso Gagliano look like saints!
I like it. The four wise men (okay; three plus a woman) mentioned above would be a great way to maintain a strong Liberal tradition in the riding. The Kwantlen bunch could do the fundraising for the campaign.
Things sure haven't changed much under the "new" management the Liberals are trying to peddle these days.
With the federal liberals remaining powerless, Pynenburg's honey can be all campaign manager he wants to be, he simply will fail to motivate enough people to take Peter Julian out who continues to be backed by prominent NDP figures in Burnaby. 2008 to liberals will be more cruel than 2006 when they were the governing federal party, and 04 is not even comparable for the liberals.
The first poster seems suggest in academic qualifications alone, NDP incumbent is no match against either Mary or Lily, but we all know that never really matters otherwise Harper would have been in power long ago as the only Prime Minister with a graduate degree in decades. If the super rich in Vancouver proper decide to turn against them, then liberals aint even got a chance and that is why we are seeing candidates running that seem to be out of step and the nomination of Bill Cunnigham is only the beginning.
Some suggest that Dion is going to do another Dosanj on Julian, but we all know that is not happening. But if such unthinkable happens, I fully hope that Mr. Democracy will live up to his name to make a run for the nomination against the sitting mayor, as such a defeat will gain him immediate prominence in the national scene.
Peter Julien hasn't done a terrible job. I think he could be given credit for working quite hard. He gets more face time than anyone in Burnaby other than Mayor Corrigan. Too bad he can't actually do anything for Burnaby.
Burnaby really needs an MP from one of the two parties that can actually form gvt.
No one is doubting our mayor's political ambition as people start eculating him passing the torch so he can launch a challenge against Richard Lee. And we all know which federal riding our mayor wants even though we all know that the only chance for mayor's party to own power is on the council, and even that is far from a sure thing.
However a party in power without challenge for decades is just having it too easy, I think it is time for the party central leadership to be challenged and I continue to believe that Mr. Democracy is one of the few political outsiders that may overthrow Mayor Corrigan in his own party.
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