The 2010 GPC Leadership Convention: Toronto or Bust
This Sunday Federal Council will be holding a meeting to discuss, among other things, the location for the 2010 Leadership Convention. Official applications have been received from Winnipeg and Toronto and two rural ridings in Ontario (one of which is, go figure, my own rural riding Dufferin-Caledon).
If you’re a member you can look at the application submission guidelines here http://greenparty.ca/node/11600 . It’s obvious that on 90% of the criteria such as meeting facilities, media access, transportation, accommodation, restaurants and local attractions a city like Toronto wins hands down over rural Ontario. Winnipeg can compete on some of those guidelines but Toronto’s unassailable advantage over Winnipeg is that more than 1/3 of GPC members live in Ontario, a proportion which will hold for available volunteers too. Oh yes, 1 / 4 of Canada’s population lives within 3 hours of Toronto. Talk about an area of strategic importance for any political party.
We hoot and holler about proportional representation. When we apply it to our membership it’s clear that at least 1 out of 3 conventions should be held in Ontario and that we should go to a Pictou or Winnipeg perhaps 1 out of 10 times. BC deserves some disproportionate attention too because of its membership numbers. But holding it in BC this time might give the appearance that the conventions are following the leader around. In any case BC hasn’t applied. Perhaps BC needs to be the place for the next convention.
I wrote an article comparing our 2009 Pictou convention with our 2006 Ottawa convention here http://www.greenpartystrategy.com/articles/tale-two-conventions. I tried to highlight the advantages of both. I’ll be more straightforward on this blog however and say that the 2006 Ottawa convention was twice as good as the one in Pictou. The Ottawa convention was the first Green Party event I ever attended. I joined the party because of it. Had Pictou been the first event, I would not have been nearly as enthused, especially not about the Party’s organizational abilities and growth prospects.
We’ve had our quaint convention in Pictou with the charm of bed and breakfasts and country living. I say that with all sincerity; I’ve chosen to live in that setting. It’s time now to get back to other considerations. It’s time to ask where can we get the most visibility, attendance and party building excitement for our 2010 Leadership Convention. It’s a no brainer. It’s Toronto.
P.S. Write your Federal Councilor. Better yet, write all of them. Their contact emails are here http://www.greenparty.ca/contact/council.
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I second this!
I was on Council back in 2007 when Pictou was chosen as the location for the Fall 2008/Spring 2009 BGM. While there was support for Nova Scotia, there were several requests for Toronto to host in 2010. Toronto has never hosted and I agree with the many members who contacted me that it's time.
I've posted my endorsement here: http://reportongreens.blogspot.com/2009/10/toronto-in-2010.html
Mark Taylor (Cypress Hills - Grasslands)
http://ReportonGreens.blogspot.com
This statement is purely my own opinion and no way is to be mistaken for the viewpoints of the party
Allow me to lift federal councils skirts a little
Ard, you'll get no argument from me that the GPC is overdue for a monster, hugely attended convention in Toronto. Heck, even I'd very happily come off the benches to help out with a Toronto convention.
You might be forgetting though, that the next convention will be a leadership convention. It is pretty obvious to all that Adrian Carr, and Frank DeJong will be facing off for the leadership, plus of course several other contenders, (at least one of whom will be a serious contender).
Adrian Carr is pretty closely aligned with Elizabeth, and by extension the current tame council. Do you seriously believe that council will make a gift to Frank DeJong like this? No, I expect that anywhere but Ontario will be the decision.( With an obvious Vancouver bias) After all, the 'training tour' was sooo advantageous for a certain deputy Leader trying to build a national profile in preperation for the leadership. Certainly some people on council, and especially staffers will be worried for their positions, and Toronto will not serve them well.
Hey Ard, maybe I'm too machiavellian for my own good. Maybe our internal politics are actually different from the other Party's. Maybe council and staff will do what's best for the Party, while ignoring their parochial interests. Maybe the moon IS made of Green Cheese. A more serious maybe is: Maybe Elizabeth May will actually get elected in SGI, and will stay on as leader. There's certainly an interesting time ahead. I personally am not expecting a level playing field though. What's the point of securing complete control of council if fairness is the objective?
Council’s role is to represent members not leadership candidates
I wouldn’t want to speculate on who is going to be running in a leadership race or what location might be more favorable to which hypothetical candidate. I especially don’t want to do that when the results and timing of the next election will probably have a greater bearing on the leadership race dimension of the convention than anything else.
Let me be clear that I’m not lobbying for Toronto because I support Frank De Jong as a potential leadership candidate or because I think he would benefit from a Toronto convention. I expect Council to make the decision independently of who the candidates for the leadership race might turn out to be. That is their role and I expect them to play it.
Council’s criteria needs simply be to consider past locations chosen and which of the current locations with applications would provide the most benefit to the GPC (all of us) in terms of visibility, attendance, increased membership and donations and overall ‘party building energy’.
Let's see what Council's response is before we criticize them.
Ard Van Leeuwen (Dufferin-Caledon, ON)
The views I express on this blog are purely my own and should not be construed to represent the official position of the Green Party of Canada.
You're right Ard, but I'm not wrong
Yes you're right that it's not fair to be overly critical. I wasn't being critical of you Ard, I'm certain that you are interested in the well being of the GPC before other considerations.
The problem is that nobody really pays much attention to what the national council gets up to. The more that council actually thinks someone is watching, the more inclined to make sound, and principled decisions they will be. It's very easy to uncritically do as directed, and perhaps some of them will be making decisions without even realising that there are subtleties underlying the seemingly simple issue of 'where will the convention be held'.
If there is no scrutiny, we will deserve it if we the membership are presented with an 'irrevocable' decision, possibly made on spurious grounds, with a rationale that more or less supports the decision.
I 'lifted the skirts' to ensure that anybody who is interested in the discussion will realise there is a 500 lb gorilla in the room that nobody on council will officially notice.
Well, I am the finger pointing to the Gorilla. It is there, and it is foremost in the minds of the more alert councilors. There will be pretty arguments about pro's and cons of different venues, but there is something very different and real at stake.
As for the ACTUAL merits of locations, ( without reference to leadership race) Vancouver actually wouldn't be a bad choice either, but Toronto would be huge. For all the reasons you mentioned above. Media coverage, mega big turnout, robust facilities. etc. etc. etc.
By the way Ard, very good post, and timely as well. The related issue of: 'what are the terms and conditions of the leadership race', which is now only months away should be on the radar screen as well. I don't know where an impartial fairness commitee will be found, but it's getting pretty late to start setting ground rules.
Matthew, thanks for helping keep everybody honest
Matthew, you say "If there is no scrutiny, we will deserve it if we the membership are presented with an 'irrevocable' decision, possibly made on spurious grounds, with a rationale that more or less supports the decision."
I couldn't agree more. That's why I'm putting the Toronto stake in the ground now before a decision has been made. I'd welcome some others to pubicly put forth the case for other locations. In the end we would get a better decision because of it.
Ard Van Leeuwen (Dufferin-Caledon, ON)
The views I express on this blog are purely my own and should not be construed to represent the official position of the Green Party of Canada.
BGM
I appreciatred Mark's comments and trust others will provide pros and cons to help us make the best choice.
I suggest that negativism dulls the discussion and wastes all of our time.
Joe Foster
Councillor at Large
Attendees & location minor factor
In all our past leadership conventions, the votes of actual attendees have been rather insignificant in determining the winner. The number of mail-in ballots (online, this time?) outnumber the attendees by a significant factor. Even if that weren't so, the attendees tend to be more involved members who already have a favourite and aren't likely to change their minds based on a speech or some gladhanding.
Which is just to say that not only would choosing a location to support or hinder a particular leadership candidate be unfair and undemocratic, it would also be fairly pointless in actual effect. Thus doubly tragic.
Erich Jacoby-Hawkins, Barrie ON - although I'm on Cabinet (Nat'l Rev. and Ecol. Fiscal Reform), views here are my own and may not reflect official GPC positions. Please visit www.ErichtheGreen.ca
Update on Winnipeg's convention bid
Because of this post it's been brough to my attention that apparently Winnipeg has, or had already, withdrawn its application.
Ard Van Leeuwen (Dufferin-Caledon, ON)
The views I express on this blog are purely my own and should not be construed to represent the official position of the Green Party of Canada.
You're right Erich, especially the phrase 'in the past'
Erich, you are absolutely correct regarding the impact in past leaderships. You are also correct that the seletion of venue based upon favouritism would be unconscienable. That doesn't mean it won't happen that way.
Generally, the 'turnout' is abysmal, and somewhere around 1/3 of the membership mail in their ballot. The ability to vote in person, coinciding with a Toronto convention will turn that on it's head this time.
The local membership will probably not get a whole lot of GOTV reminders, and will mirror what the membership in the rest of the country will do, which is to say, 35% or so will mail in their ballot. There will be a 'second chance' to get out the vote if it's a matter of taking the bus down to the convention hall, and casting a ballot amidst all the excitement. Toronto basically has comparable membership numbers to the province of BC, so there will potentially be 1,300 plus members to be cajoled into giving enough of a damn to get out and make their choice. I think that'll be the margin of victory this time around. Remember I'm not simply venting from a position of ignorance. I've been there (twice) trying to get out the vote for a leadership candidate, and the unfortunate reality is that it is very difficult to motivate Greens to cast a vote.
For example, in the Leadership race last time around, you will recall that I was working on Elizabeths team, and a total of over 4,000 memberships were sold, presumably to people joining for the purpose of voting for Elizabeth. Only about half of them voted. More opportunities to GOTV, better reasons to show up for the Party, a convention in Toronto will be the most active, and vibrant event ever in the history of the Green Party of Canada. It will also have a real impact on the Leadership race, in my opinion.
no to my Toronto if...
...it indeed does mean increased likelihood of replacement of a justifiably fatigued GPC leader by an unsatisfactory former GPO one, for if he wins, indicating influence of an even more unsatisfactory group, I'm almost certainly outta here
What's your location preference?
You've stated your relative preference for leader but what's your preference for location? To make the choice easier let's assume said GPC leader, former GPO leader and deputy GPC leaders were not in the race. Without the influence of potential candidates which location would you recommend?
That is precisely what Council needs to do; remove candidates from the equation.
Ard Van Leeuwen (Dufferin-Caledon, ON)
The views I express on this blog are purely my own and should not be construed to represent the official position of the Green Party of Canada.
Sorry i hijacked your post Ard
Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut ;-).
There should be a wider discussion about convention, and I'm glad you started one here. I apologise if I distracted from your excellent topic, but I guess you see my point that the 'real' issue is in large part not on the radar?
If we're removing candidates from the equation, I only see justification for three potential Cities. Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal. The justifications should be self evident. Scale, and growth opportunities. I think that Alberta almost becomes a great province, but with membership of 1,000, in a small province, the scale cannot be readily acheived. Certainly the electoral opportunity is there. Montreal is marginal, but sooner or later we have to get bloody serious about le Parti Vert. If we had half the membership in Quebec that we do in Ontario, we would be targetting multiple ridings there in the next election.
Daryl, there will be (at least) one other candidate for whom a Toronto convention will be somewhat better than neutral, not just a former leader of one or another provincial Green party. Have I sparked your interest? I hope so, that's my intention. If you don't mind, I'll be in touch when the race gets a little closer in time. Actually, I, or my colleagues will be in touch with just about everybody in the Party when the time is right. This is going to be a real campaign this time, and I anticipate a couple more candidates to keep it interesting!
GO TORONTO !
And .....
""...it indeed does mean increased likelihood of replacement of a justifiably fatigued GPC leader by an unsatisfactory former GPO one, for if he wins, indicating influence of an even more unsatisfactory group, I'm almost certainly outta here""
If this happens...and Vernon really leaves....I promise to sign up 10 more members the same day !
Unfatigued types as well
I will vote for Frank if he runs or anyone else who seems worthy
Its about inclusion and democracy not spoiled children for me.
None of you are anything more than any of us...none.
The simple fact is its one member one vote.....and we all live with what ever leader
and I will not just quit because of the memberships choice
Even if I do not win .........LOL
No I am not smoking one and no I am not serious...LOL
My point is and was just responding to a silly comment above....so please join with me and help me to set this Vernon free ...he deserves it..LOL
A Proud Vancouverite.. but 2010 would be difficult to swing.
As it will be a mail-in vote, I don't think location will have an affect on the results and the consideration should be on what is best for the party.
I would rather have the Leadership Convention outside of Ontario, as the previous leadership race was in Ottawa.
However, while I think Vancouver and BC would make an excellent place to have the BGM,with the Olympics being here in February, I think it may be rather difficult to get a decent facility for affordable location for the summer as we would have to start booking more than 9 months in advance for a decent location for the summer. I'd suggest that the party should plan for a 2012 Vancouver BGM.
I think its important that the major BGMs be held in a place where travel to and from is convenient. (We had very few people from BC come to pictou as the two flight,+ two and a half hour drive was a little unreasonable.)
At this point, Toronto may be the best option. I'd like to give Calgary or Winnipeg a shot, but I'm not sure the organization on the ground is in place.
Pendulum model?
Given that about half the GPC members live in Ontario (along with just shy of 40% of Canada's population), it would make sense to have the BGM in Ontario about half the time. The other half it could alternate between parts west and parts east, each of which have around 10 million people, a little over a quarter of Canada's population.
The most recent 6 follow a cyclical west-Ontario-east pattern: Winnipeg 1998, Ottawa 2000, Montreal 2002, Calgary 2004, Ottawa 2006, Pictou 2008/9. If we see a pendulum pattern as having begun in 2004, then next up would be the west, and Vancouver would seem logical. Then Ontario, then east - perhaps somewhere in Quebec.
The side effect would be that all leadership races (if they stay on the 4-year cycle) would be in Ontario. I've posted before that I don't think this is such a major factor in bias, since most of the votes are mailed in before the convention. But perhaps we could find a way to adjust for this. Going to a cycle-patter, (west, Ontario, east, repeat) would spread leadership races around Canada.
For a list of all general meetings so far, visit this link. Interesting to note that there has never been one in Toronto before.
Going to annual instead of biennial would reduce the time between conferences in "your" part of the country, wherever that might be. This would reduce the perceived need to go to every conference - one could instead go to the closer ones and skip the further ones without feeling left out.
Erich Jacoby-Hawkins, Barrie ON - although I'm on Cabinet (Nat'l Rev. and Ecol. Fiscal Reform), views here are my own and may not reflect official GPC positions. Please visit www.ErichtheGreen.ca
Toronto it is for BGM 2010
Today Council approved a motion making Toronto the location for the 2010 Convention. It brings to mind that quote about needing to be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.
It turns out there were only two location proposals that reached the 'official' stage. Both were in Ontario. Congratulations to Stephen LaFrenie who put together the winning proposal and the Toronto Greens for their support.
Ard Van Leeuwen (Dufferin-Caledon, ON)
The views I express on this blog are purely my own and should not be construed to represent the official position of the Green Party of Canada.