Martha Memories: Convention 2006

The Spirit of Martha

The Spirit of Martha

Montreal 2006

Liberal Leadership Convention

Joining David Anderson, former Minister of the Environment, and Judy Sgro, MP for York West, chanting "Martha" as we head to the main floor of the Palais des Congres.

That's me right behind them.

There's me and Rob, holding up Martha signs. Rob was the genius behind the "We love Martha" signs that became such a big hit!

There's Chris Spearman, bravely facing "competition." This photo was on the Reuters newswire, and it is one of my favourites!

Thank you Alberta!

Dear Liberal friends in Alberta,

On December 3, delegates from across the country united behind our new leader Stephane Dion. But during the days leading up to the vote, delegates recognized, applauded, and rallied behind a rising star of the Party - Martha Hall Findlay. After the Liberal Leadership Convention, all the "pundits" agreed: Martha has and will continue to play an important role in shaping the future of the Liberal Party, and our country.

During the course of this leadership campaign, Martha made a very clear commitment to the West, especially Alberta, with two leadership tours (one with the Bus, the other with um...a Buick) - visiting the following towns and cities:

Sexsmith, AB Twice!
Thank you Neil Peacock, Kevin McLean, and all the die-hard Liberals up in Peace Country!
Edmonton, AB Three Times!
Countless events in Alberta's Capital City - thank you MLA Weslyn Mather, Edmonton Public Schools Trustee Don Fleming, 2006 Candidate Ron Symic for your support.
Thanks also to Mary Amerasinghe, President of the EWLPA, Harold and Shirley Knopke, and so many others.
Red Deer, AB Twice!
Thank you, Luke Kurata and Donna Herron, and so many others. Donna, your baking will bring us back for sure!
Lethbridge, AB Twice!
Thank you, Dianne King and Chris Spearman. Your hospitality and support will always be remembered.
Medicine Hat, AB
Thank you, Bev and Fran for your support.
Calgary, AB Twice!
Thank you, Rob Woodward - our Alberta Youth Chair who did a wonderful job for our campaign.
Janice and Beverly - thank you for your strong support.
Banff, AB
Thank you, Betsy, Debbie, Julita, Leslie, Margaret, and so many others!

On behalf of Martha and our national campaign team, I'd like to thank all of you for your strong support for our campaign. Now, we have an election to focus on. I am confident that Stephane's integrity and passion will resonate with all Canadians - even those darn Tory Albertans! Over the next several months, I'd like to encourage all of you to stay involved and fight hard for the Liberal Party and what we all stand for.

Sincerely,

Jung-Suk Ryu
Alberta Campaign Director
jungsuk.ryu@gmail.com

Rob Woodward

Alberta Youth Director

rob.woodward@telus.net

Democratic Greatness

Oh Golly.
...American midterms....Tuesday was sure exciting! Today was even better, since it was announced that Howard Dean will be the keynote speaker at the convention. His enthusiasm and passion for politics, and the campaign process, (as is shown not only because of the recent Democratic victory, but also his 2004 Presidential Campaign) will surely add to the excitement and renewal of the Liberal Party at this pivitol convention.

In it for the long haul....

While this was posted on Martha's official website- I felt it needed to be reposted here; as it is so important- given the recent withdrawls of Hedy Fry and Carolyn Bennett.

Martha’s comments on Hedy Fry’s decision to bow out and support Bob Rae

I have had the pleasure of getting to know Hedy Fry during this campaign, and she has contributed significantly to this leadership contest. I can, however, understand her decision and I congratulate Bob on getting Hedy’s support.

But what about us, the Martha Hall Findlay campaign? We don’t have big numbers, in terms of delegate intention forms or in terms of polling numbers. But we’re different. We were never expected to. Our campaign continues to exceed all expectations. The Big Red Bus has become a symbol of the renewal and rejuvenation of the Liberal Party, thanks to our message and our collective hard work and enthusiasm. We have already been making a difference, and we will continue.

The Big Red Bus will be going to Montreal.

My job, our job---contributing to the health and vitality and rejuvenation of the Liberal Party---has only started. And as of today, I now have another responsibility: despite the promise of having three women running, for the first time, for the leadership of a national party, we are down to one. I will be damned if, in 2006, the Liberal Party of Canada has a leadership convention without a single woman on that stage. For all of our talk of encouraging more women to enter politics, what would that say? I have often said that I am not running in this leadership as a woman. Now, part of me is.

Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported us so far. We’ve come such a long way, particularly for an almost completely volunteer campaign with extremely limited resources. I am so proud, as should be every one of you who has helped, of what we’ve accomplished so far, and the difference we’ve already made.

So with that, I remind everyone---when the going gets tough, the tough get going. So let’s go! Super Weekend, with all of the Delegate Election Meetings, is this weekend. Please make sure you attend. Please also call and write and cajole, if you have to, every party member you know to get out and vote – for Martha Hall Findlay and for the Martha Hall Findlay delegates. Every single vote matters.

And we really do need all the financial help we can---for the Big Red Bus to get to Montreal , and to do it right, we need gas in the tank. Please donate today. Every litre helps!

Martha

Other Bright Women in Politics- So long Ann Richards.

In the mad dash to collect delegate forms for the upcoming convention in Montreal, I took pause to check the news, and was saddened to read of the death of former Texas governor, Ann Richards (D). While this has little to do with the Liberal Leadership at hand, or even Canada- but like Martha, Gov. Richards was a prominent female liberal, who became quite the political celebrity. Ann Richards served as the 45th governor of Texas, the second woman ever elected to that post. Elected as a woman, and a democrat, in Texas, in my view- is a great accomplishment. She was also the first person to ever be beat by then Texas Ranger's Manager George W. Bush (and Karl Rove)- for the governorship in 1994. While she only served one term as governor, she remained popular in the state, and with Texas democrats, until her death today, loosing her battle with cancer, at age 73. While I know little of her leadership and tenure as governor, I've been given the impression that she was a bright, independent woman: something we need more of in Canadian politics.

Blogging National Caucus / Alberta Tour: Part 2

Friday, August 25

4.30 am. 4.30 am!!! After another long day of visiting various Liberals in the Lower Mainland, I had to wake up at 4.30 am to quickly get ready and take our 7 AM flight to Calgary.

During check-in, one of the flight staff had an issue with Martha's ID - "Martha Findlay," not Hall Findlay. As proof that she was indeed Martha Hall Findlay, Martha took out from her briefcase an impressive two (maybe three?) page spread in the Toronto Star that had a huge picture of her with the words "Martha's the One to Watch." I read the article before on the website, but I didn't realize that the article was so big and had so many pictures!

Winnie and I both doze off during our flight. When we arrived in Calgary, we were greeted by Rob Woodward, our Alberta Youth Chair. He's a great guy who entertains himself by making fun of me. But that's another problem that can be dealt with after this convention. (Hint hint.)

First destination: Medicine Hat. Along the way, Martha did a radio interview with Dave Rutherford on the Rutherford Show. Of course, anyone in Alberta knows how conservative Dave is, but I knew Martha could take him on. And she certainly did. One listener called in and said, "I've always been a card-carrying Liberal, and I liiike! this lady!" Our host in Medicine Hat was Roger Johnson, owner of Pasta-Bilities, a delicious little pasta place along the Trans Canada Highway. Below, you can see our crew with the World's Tallest Teepee - yes, in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Next destination: Lethbridge! We all met at Dianne King's house. Dianne is a wonderful lady and the President of the local riding association. Chris Spearman, one of our supporters in Lethbridge, gave an impressive introduction to Martha. There were some other notables there - Bridget Pastoor, MLA for Lethbridge-East, and Senator Joyce Fairbairn, who came to visit for the second time (we were in Lethbridge during our first tour).

Final destination of the day: Calgary. Rob, Janice Kinch, and Beverly Anderson did an awesome job of putting together our first fundraiser for the tour. It was held at Ed's, a cute little restaurant in the heart of downtown Calgary (across from the Stampede grounds!). More than 50 people came out to hear what Martha had to say. Martha released her agriculture policy today - you will be able to see it on our website shortly!

After what seemed to be a very long day, we made our drive up to Red Deer to stay at Donna Herron's home for the night.

August 26, 2006

Martha tried to wake Winnie and I up in the morning. Neither of us heard her. We were just too tired! Our first event was at Donna's home. She has a beautiful home and I always tell her that she looks like Glenn Close. :-) The event was very well-attended, and everyone was clearly impressed. It wasn't supposed to be a fundraiser, but we raised quite a few dollars! Thank you, Red Deer.

After a lengthy six- or seven-hour drive, we arrived in Sexsmith, Alberta - Peace River country!! This was Martha's second visit. The response after her first visit was absolutely amazing - Neil Peacock, a former provincial candidate and director of the Peace Country Tender Beef Co-Op, has been very vocal of his support for Martha and organized a fundraiser for us. The response from tonight's event? Even more astounding - everyone took a delegate intention form to stand as a delegate for Martha.

Sunday, August 26

Finally, a day of sleep at home! Our first event in Edmonton was a meeting with representatives from the Seniors Commission and the local Womens' Policy Association. Martha then went out to Sherwood Park to meet with a handful of Liberals, including Ron Symic - past candidate for Edmonton-Sherwood Park - who is endorsing Martha.

The biggest event of the tour took place in the evening. Over eighty local Liberals came out to hear Martha speak at the Palace Conference Centre. Weslyn Mather, the MLA for Edmonton-Mill Woods, came out to personally support Martha's leadership bid, which appeared in Global TV and the local papers. Both Martha and Weslyn were given standing ovations, in recognition of their public service. Bridget Pastoor (MLA for Lethbridge East) also joined us as one of our guest speakers. Picture below.

Monday, August 27

Today's agenda was great. We first drove off to Edson, but I underestimated the time it would take to get there and we were about 30 minutes late! Fortunately, all of the local Liberals waited for us, drinking their good ol' Tim Hortons coffee. Most of them were impressed! And they took a delegate intention form to stand as a delegate for Martha.

Then we went off to Hinton to meet with some local Liberals. I think Martha had her first uninterrupted full meal that day, so Winnie and I were quite pleased.

After our lunch in Hinton, we went through Highway 93 from Jasper to Banff. It was a gorgeous drive. Well, actually, Martha drove, and she seemed to enjoy her time away from her Treo and the laptop. Here are some of the pictures we took along the way...

Along the highway, we saw a huge (huuuge!) deer or elk or moose or...

Martha and Winnie with some beautiful views of the Rockies.

Martha and I standing at a marker indicating where the Columbia Icefield was in 1935.

Our final event for the Alberta tour was at Betsy's home. Betsy is Martha's sister. She has a beautiful home along the Bow River in Banff. When Betsy's assistant Debbie told me that the entire town of Banff was invited, I thought she was kidding.... Guess not! Martha was engaged in some hot-topic discussions surrounding the gun registry and healthcare with hordes of Banff residents. Some purchased memberships and made the decision to run as delegates for Martha.

After spending almost two weeks with Martha (non-stop!), I have gotten to know Martha as a truly genuine individual with so much to offer Canada, and the world. Thank you, Martha.