To Start With

This is my first foray into serious blogging, although I've been posting off and on to my other blog, which is primarily targeted towards other software developers and tech geeks (such as how to set up Apache web server in Ubuntu to direct traffic on multiple aliases to virtual machines). However, in the past few months, I've been going back to my political science roots, taking part in the on-line Twitter (handle: @chrisjmcclure) conversations for first the Calgary mayoralty election. Now, I've become involved with the Alberta Party, which has grown past its beginnings to start gaining attention by the provincial media and the more politically involved members of the public.

While Twitter is fun and allows for specific information to be quickly disseminated to an audience, its very nature does not allow much detail or depth of conversation without a lot of work. So I figure I'll start posting my thoughts onto the web, knowingly opening myself up to the trolls (hi there!), while writing alongside serious writers (journalists, professional and regular bloggers) on one side and those who are professional or post-graduate political commentators. But isn't the web the great equalizer?

Regardless I'll be writing about everything political - my education is international relations, but with my involvement in the Alberta Party I imagine it will be mostly Alberta provincial for a while. I promise not to be too academic - hopefully...

So to actually get to the meat of this post - why the Alberta Party for me? Basically, the desire for change, but change in a way that is meaningful to the all of the people of Alberta. I'm 36, and except for four years in China in my late twenties, have lived my entire life in Alberta. I've have never had a different ruling party in power in the provincial government except for the PCs. To me this is not a healthy democracy. Furthermore without an effective opposition, we are left with a direction-less government with minor corruption and endemic mismanagement (health care anyone?). There is also hostility to criticism, with those outside the the beliefs of the party being labeled elitists, socialists or communists (or, as is en vogue "leftist pinkos"), regardless if that is even technically or ideologically correct. Anything to differentiate the "us" from "them".

As a university educated Gen-Xer centrist, who do you vote for if you dislike the ruling PCs? Liberals are an anathema to a majority of people in Alberta, even though the party had absolutely nothing to do with the NEP (provincial and federal parties are separate people!) and it was a generation ago. Moreover, they have never been able to propose a vision that is agreeable to people here. NDP is way too left on the political spectrum and Wild Rose is much to far to the right. I had been voting for the Alberta Green party, as I have deep interest in seeing environmental policies pursued, but that ended after they imploded a couple of years ago.

So the Alberta Party has appeared. And instead of confrontation, isolation and secrecy as exists with the current ruling party, the Alberta Party wants open collaboration. This seems to me as a very Canadian way of doing things and is something that we promote in schools, universities and even in the business world. It should also be something that is done in politics. Whether or not this is possible to do on a large scale remains to be seen. But with modern technology and social media, it is something that at least seems possible.

Earlier this week, I helped to form the Calgary-Buffalo Constituency Association, and surprised myself by volunteering to be one of the 'Officers-at-Large' for the constituency. However, this is the first chance I've seen in my life to make an impression on the way the province is run and it is too tempting to pass. I suspect that I'll be volunteering quite a bit of time in the coming months (around my MBA courses that I'm taking) as the party moves from a grass roots movement to a real political option for the next provincial election. Personally I'll be working towards helping to shape policy in the following areas, as they are some of what I consider to be important areas that are overlooked in favour of those that get more votes:

• Environmental issues - not just oil sands related, but water & land protection
• Election reform - moving towards a system of proportional representation, that would allow better representation for all Albertans
• Governance - an overhaul of how issues are handled from the people, to the government and to the bureaucracy

In closing I think it is important that people realize that although Alberta is a great province to live in, it can and should be greatly improved in many areas to reach the potential it has of being one of the best places in the world to live. For me, the Alberta Party represents the best option in provincial politics to attain that.