ONDP Leadership Fora

I actually had to look up "Fora"... but I guess this is a good a place as any to mention we had the leadership contenders up for a Christmas Social fundraiser yesterday in Gravenhurst. It was great. Tabuns couldn't make it, and had sent Cheri DiNovo to pinch hit for him, but alas she came down with the flu. However, Tabuns did make a video address. It got good press (I think -  the weekly regional newpapers come out wednesday).

Mojo... I am confused.  Was it great because Peter didn't attend (was the video at least auto focused properly) and that Cheri struck out at pinch hitting for him.... 

Or was great because there were actually high quality candidates who showed up to meet and greet your members no matter the weather conditions.   Remember... 80% of this job is showing up.

I know you have mentioned that you are supporting Peter in past posts but a little detail about those who did attend would be helpful.  

PoliticalVixen wrote:

Mojo... I am confused.  Was it great because Peter didn't attend (was the video at least auto focused properly) and that Cheri struck out at pinch hitting for him.... 

Or was great because there were actually high quality candidates who showed up to meet and greet your members no matter the weather conditions.   Remember... 80% of this job is showing up.

I know you have mentioned that you are supporting Peter in past posts but a little detail about those who did attend would be helpful.  

 

 

Oh c'mon PV, your contempt for Peter and Cheri is glaringly obvious. Getting the flu is not the same as striking out and no matter how you slice it its a cheap and gratuitous shot.

80 per cent of this job is just showing up????? How utterly simplistic and dismissive.

You're not confused and you're not looking for honest answers either, you're just firing cheap shots at people you clearly don't like.

While I am sure that the event was non-partisan unfortunately your discription was not. I was looking to hear about who actually showed up and what was said.  Mojo, you originally just gave excuses as to why Peter wasn't there.  I had hoped that this forum would be about various events across the province, was there a discussion, observations, was there a sighting of a jolly fellow with reindeers and sliegh, anything, especially from these non-partisan events.  Some context was what I was looking for.

I appreciate that Mojo and Spin clearly have decided on the top of their ballot and that that person would be the same person who is at the very bottom of mine.   

That said, I am paying attention to this forum to find out what people are thinking and doing around the province to engage in this historic moment.  

Moreover, how I can engage in this process as one-member with one-vote on a preferential ballot.   I want to hear what these contenders are saying about a range of issues and more about who these individuals are as people not just what they put on glossy postcards. 

I want to know that when I look back on this in a few years, that when I cast my ballot, I made an informed decision about who is going to lead and why I wanted to follow.

Feel free to attack, but that is the honest answer.

Ok. PV et al.... www.ndpparrysoundmuskoka.ca

Videos are up. 

Media Coverage (so far in the weeklies waiting for the bi-weekly)

Pre    &   Post  Coverage.

Happy Holidays

Mojoroad

Peterborough, having been left off the official list of debates, staged their own event Dec. 4. All four candidates showed up.

It was billed as a meet-and-greet with three minute speeches. Bisson went first, said "you can't be serious," and gave a rousing seven-minute speech. So the others were also given seven minutes each. All spoke well. Horwath was almost as lively as Bisson. Tabuns and Prue recited platitudes, I thought, but I may be biased.

Bisson's speech was the typical personal comments you would expect from a northern trade unionist: why his life led him into politics, spliced with references to what the NDP is all about. Great stuff. Horwath was similar, giving us some of the flavour of Hamilton labour politics, a tough battleground. She isn't quite as brash as Sheila Copps, thank heavens, but tougher than she sounds on TV where she must have been told to smile and tone it down for the cameras. Remember she had made such a name for herself on Hamilton City Council, a tough room to work, that when she went provincial she more than doubled the NDP vote share in six months. In 2003 we lost in Hamilton East with a percent of 29.42%. Six months later she won the by-election with 63.6%.

I would tell you what Tabuns and Prue said, but nothing comes to mind. Prue did not mention Catholic schools.

HUH?

Robo wrote:

THe Leadership Forum in Hamilton yesterday was attended by about 300 people, with the applause distinctly loudest for Horwath -- not surprising given the location. 

I heard nothing that I didn't hear at the first forum at Provincial Council in Toronto.  Forgive my prediction, but I expect the future forums to be equally repetitive in terms of content.  The question format was identical, and the chances of something different coming out are accordingly slim. 

They're all running for leadership of the same political party -- I don't expect to hear policy differences among them (excepting Prue's decision to go down the separate school funding road -- though I did find it strange that he wants a debate within the party but pointedly refused to asnwer what his position in the debate would be).

In terms of communication/presentation skills, Horwath and Bisson were animated while Prue and Tabuns were remarkably flat.  All come across as decent people, but Horwath did best in my opinion to "speak to the people". 

I wasn't there,  but I can guess that the debates are pretty similar in content....up to this point at least (I've attended 2). I suspect that as the clock ticks down, things will start to change however.

Anyhow, for something a little different, check out this website made entirely by grass roots Tabuns folk....

http://meetpete.ca/Video-Journal/

The 1'st video is the campaign kick-off, but it's the other 2 that are very interesting. IMHO, it shows the other kinds of leadership qualities Tabuns has  that you just can't get from a structured debate.

In was in London (and, yes, Windsor was postponed -- rather than cancelled).

School funding didn't come up, but other than that it could have been the Hamilton debate on repeat. Once again, the candidates agreed on almost everything, so it came down to who people liked. Unlike Hamilton, support for each candidate appeared to be pretty evenly divided between the candidates.

I'm partial to Andrea Horwath, and I've been quite happy with her performances in the debates so far.

I gotta say Peter has the best vision for the party. Hes the ONLY one that has articulated a plan for the economy. All the others are talking about it but dont have solutions or directions for the future. Something to think about when the time comes to vote.

 BTW when do the mail in ballots come in?

There has been a tonne of mudslinging going on, on these forums. I have been taking a little bit of an "enthusiastic" tone, but that is certainly based on the fact that it hasn't been a very good debate. Some specific supporters of campaigns have been attacking my candidate for example, and a lot of my response has been based on defending my candidate.I don't think its fair to say that I am the only one being "enthusiastic" on this forum.

But I can certainly play ball. I just hope that the same gesture is extended. 

With that said, has anyone heard if and when the Windsor Leadership debate is going to be rescheduled?

JMasse wrote:

With that said, has anyone heard if and when the Windsor Leadership debate is going to be rescheduled?

I've heard Monday, February 9 mentioned, but have yet to receive any official confirmation of that date.

And, I don't really care "who started it".

back at ya, and stay truthy!

I'm having difficulty deciding whom to support. I think its great that the ONDP have four excellent candidates to become the next leader. I've worked for both Prue and Tabuns on election campaigns and there are things that really impress me about each candidate.

At the moment I'm leaning toward Horwath, but that could change. I like the idea of having a younger female leader, but that is definatley not a deciding factor. I like Andrea's fire. She catches the audience up and sweeps them along with her when she talks. She dissapointed me a bit by siding with Sid Ryan on the OMERS debate, but she's done enough subsequent good that I'm willing to let that one go.

Whoever wins, if they make good use of the other contenders the ONDP will have a strong team going forward.

Well I will say this, whoever wins (my hope is Peter) we will have a very strong team working around our leader. It is going to reinvigorate all Ontario New Democrats. I believe that this convention and new leadership will actually make some big changes in the organization of the ONDP and I think we are all welcoming of that.

Having attended some of the debates I have yet to hear Tabuns talk about a future plan for Ontario that is grounded in reality. To get the economy going again we need union jobs in manufacturing. An energy economy may appeal to a misguided green voter but it does not deal with the present.

The NDP's *finally* but the video of at least one debate online - last weekend's London debate.

Does anyone have the details for the ONDP Windsor Debate rescheduling?