Head Tale

In 2009, I did a series of posts listing 10 reasons I was supporting Ryan Meili for Sask NDP Leader.

I thought it might be fun to re-visit the idea to see if I could list 10 completely different reasons I’m supporting him this time around.

(Come to think of it, that in itself is a reason to support Ryan. Do any of the other candidates come close to matching Ryan’s broad combination of education, experience, personality and so on in a way that makes Ryan such a potentially singular political figure?)

Okay, here we go…

#10 – I Voted For Him Last Time

This probably doesn’t seem like a very surprising reason to support someone. But there are two aspects of the fact that I voted for Ryan last time and that I intend to vote for him again that I think are important to acknowledge.

The first is that there are a few – not many but a few – people who supported him last time but for whatever reason, have chosen not to support Ryan this time around. Maybe they’re still disappointed that he dropped out of the nomination race in Saskatoon-Sutherland, maybe they don’t like that he’s wearing a beard this time around, maybe they simply like one of the other three choices this time around compared to the three other options last time.

But for me, the fact that I haven’t seen anything in the past three years (or in the other three candidates running this time) which has made me want to change my mind about what it is that I’m looking for in a leader and who I think is the best fit is significant.

The other reason is the flip side of the first one – just as I haven’t seen anything that’s changed my mind about Ryan being the best choice in the past three years, knowing that Ryan is also three years more seasoned makes me want him to win even more.

Everything from the fact that in the time since the last leadership race, he’s written a book, had three more years of active involvement with the party on both the provincial and national level, to the fact that he’s shown that he was able to not only re-create his 2009 organization but make it stronger and more effective makes me think he’s the best person for the job.

Next – #9 – His Team