Peatt.net

Working my first election was, well, fun. I took a leave of absence from my job with Minister Fortier and flew to Victoria to live with my parents for a month. After having moved to Ontario I don’t seem to get home enough so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

It took me less than a week to get plugged into the campaign. I was personal assistant, scheduler, policy advisor, and correspondence writer to Troy DeSouza. Running in Esquimalt Juan de Fuca was a difficult fight as the incumbent Liberal candidate Keith Martin had been there for 15 years. Nevertheless, after 15 years he had worked for both the Reform Party and the Liberal Party and except for a brief stint as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Keith has been an opposition MP. Also, Keith gave an interview to Julie Smith of the National Post in May that spoke of his frustration regarding the influence of MPs in the parliamentary system and he is quoted as saying that this election will be his last.

Troy offered the riding the opportunity to have a member of government as their representative. As a member of government Troy would be able to get a lot more done in the riding: not just write to MPs but actually talk to Ministers about issues people have, and lobby for a McKenzie Overpass. The Colwood Crawl is a huge problem for people leaving Victoria on the Trans Canada Highway, a short term fix would be to replace the traffic light at McKenzie/Admirals with an overpass. It was in the original plans and there is money in the Building Canada fund and the TransCanada pot, so it makes good sense.

Troy’s Campaign Team was small but well organized and hard working. They had a plan, they had a great candidate, and the momentum of the national campaign. I loved working with the team – burma shaves in the morning were fun, late night meetings were never a drag, and every day was offered new challenges and surprises.

The PM visited Victoria twice during the election. The first time he held a press conference in one of the hotels. They needed young people, especially women, for the backdrop so I ended up wearing a Conservative t-shirt behind Prime Minister Harper on the right hand side of the TV screen during the announcement. The guy behind me fainted half way through the announcement. We had been up there for a long time before the event got underway, the room was stuffy, and we had lights heating us. The guy just collapsed. The and then This Hour Has 22 Minutes used it for this sketch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEf8o-kQt7Y. Mom still can’t stop laughing!

On election day, 68 more people voted for Keith than Troy. There is a recount underway which may change that but regardless, I am proud of the work that I did over the campaign. Not very often can one point to something and say, “I made a difference” but I feel in this case I can. I was one of a handful of people that could work full time and the team said I brought a higher level of professionalism to the campaign. Troy said I made him feel like an MP which I think is the biggest success, as that is what we were aiming to make him.

While home I got to spend Thanksgiving with Mom, Dad, Ed and Gerry Turner. Ryan and I attended his grandmother’s 80th birthday. And I spent a girls weekend with Mom, Grandma Pighin, and Aunt Connie. Also, Amber and I made a pie and ate the best eggs benedict in the world. A great campaign, a great visit, and I know we will soon make Troy an MP.