Head Tale

I was recently reminded by a long-time NDP member that, in the interests of unity, it’s important not to ascribe negative motives to candidate’s actions, especially during a Leadership race.

I don’t think I was particularly judging anyone negatively in the circumstance. But it was a timely reminder given that I was planning to write about Ryan Meili’s experience in Saskatoon-Sutherland and why, rather than seeing that as a reason not to support Ryan, it’s actually another reason that I do.

In fact, I think there are a few people in the Sask NDP would do well to take a similar approach and not judge Ryan for what happened in Saskatoon-Sutherland. Instead, they should try to understand that what happened might not be as straight-forward as it appears from the outside.

I should take a step back here for anyone who doesn’t know the story (and many readers won’t since this is pretty inside ball for all except the biggest political junkies.)

After coming in second in the 2009 Sask NDP Leadership race, Ryan committed to running for a nomination to be a candidate in the next election. Out of a few different options (and I may have some thoughts around that in future as well!), he chose to run in Saskatoon-Sutherland. Sutherland was a Sask Party held seat, not a “safe” NDP seat like many other candidates ran in during the most recent election. Ryan began the nomination race but at some point, decided to drop out.

And this is where the judging began…

Because for some in the party, this was (is?) a huge affront and proof that Ryan is not worthy to be Leader. The charges from some quarters came quickly: He expected to be handed a nomination on a silver platter. He quit when he knew he couldn’t win. He just wanted the top job but wasn’t willing to put in time doing anything else.

Personally, I had the opposite reaction. I was disappointed of course but also impressed with Ryan’s willingness to make, what must have been a very difficult decision he knew would probably blow back on him. For me, it was a testament to Ryan’s judgment and values, his willingness to make tough decisions and (depending on how the current Leadership race plays out), possibly also his long-term vision – all extremely important qualities in a leader.

So how does the story change if we’re trying not to judge? What if we try to understand what happened from Ryan’s point of view (although I’ll stress again, these are only *my* observations as I try to put myself in his shoes.)

Here’s what I saw…

Less than a year earlier, Ryan had been through a gruelling Leadership race. There was enormous pressure for him to seek a nomination. The new Leader, known for his hard-nosed, aggressive style seemed resentful that this unknown kid had come out of nowhere to nearly defeat him. That resentment appeared to linger even after the Leadership race was over. (One person I talked to observed that after a Leadership contest, usually the victor has to extend an olive branch to the loser. This was the only time he’d seen the defeated team offering olive branches to the victorious team to salve their wounds.)

As the second-place finisher and a clear rising star of the party, Ryan may not have expected anything to be handed to him. But he might have rightly expected the party to at least offer a similar path to a nomination that was given to the new Leader (who didn’t have a contested nomination as far as I can remember.) Instead, Ryan entered a multi-way race against a number of other candidates. And it may not have been a fair contest either as there were rumours that his campaign was actively being subverted by others within the party. Finally, Ryan likely foresaw the disaster that awaited the NDP in the next election. Even if he’d run for a nomination and won, it’s a strong possibility he might not have won against the Sask Party in that riding as a number of NDP candidates in “safe” seats (again, including the new Leader) also lost.

Considering all of that, I think Ryan realised that what he actually needed was a *break* from politics. This would give him the opportunity to re-centre himself, re-connect with his own values and remember why he gotten involved with politics in the first place. And then he’d be able to focus on exactly what he wanted his future to be.

He had more than enough options. He was newly married, beginning to plan for a new family, likely already tossing around the idea for his book plus all his various other commitments he already had – from his medical practice in Saskatoon to teaching at the University to practicing medicine in Saskatchewan’s north and overseas while also being involved with a variety of organizations from Canadian Doctors for Medicare and the U of S’s Social Accountability Roundtable. And contrary to the charge that he expected the top job without putting in time doing anything else, he continued to be an active member of the NDP, both locally and federally on top of everything else. (Ability to multi-task = another desirable leadership quality!)

Now Ryan’s running for Leader once again and in a month, we’ll know if his decision to drop out of Sutherland was a truly crippling blow to his political aspirations or is a big bag of nothing that only matters to political junkies who like to make politics into their own personal soap opera. 😉

That’s my take on Sutherland. So what’s the connection to his beard?

If Sutherland is seen as the biggest strike against Ryan by some in the party, I think the decision to keep his beard is probably the smallest strike against him.

And yet I see great similarities in how both cases show that Ryan is someone who makes his own decisions (even if there’s a political risk to himself or great pressure to do otherwise) and is willing to do things that many traditional politicians wouldn’t or won’t.

And speaking of beards, I can’t wait for tomorrow’s post…

Next – #5 – He Makes Politics Fun