Head Tale

There’s half a dozen reasons I support Ryan in a single photo: 1) he’s now an MLA, 2) he spends a lot of time in the Legislative Library researching and reading, 3) he’s (probably) the only current MLA who has a book in that same library, 4) so many people I knew in that room from libraries, publishing, and the arts & culture sector were excited to meet Ryan, 5) he had time for all of them 6) he easily switched to speaking French with a former Sask Book Awards board member that I introduced him to.

In both the 2009 and 2013 Sask NDP Leadership races, I did a series of posts where I listed 10 reasons why I thought Ryan was the best choice for the Sask NDP.

In my #1 reason in my 2009 list, I said “Ryan has the potential to be a transformative leader for Saskatchewan.”

In my #1 reason in my 2013 list, I said “Ryan is the best choice. Period.”

Of course, in that final 2013 post, I also said “… I really hope I’m not forced to do a “100 Reasons I’m Supporting Ryan Meili” the next time the NDP has a Leadership race if he doesn’t win this one!”

So here we are.

<sigh>

And here I go…

(It won’t be hard for me to come up with 100 reasons I’m supporting Ryan but, one caveat, I will be re-using the reasons I gave in 2009 and 2013 plus a list I helped Ryan’s team write for a series of holiday posts in the 2013 race because those reasons haven’t changed over the past decade.  But that may mean there are a few items on this list that are near-duplicates or variations on the same idea.)

2009 Reasons
100. He’s soft-spoken
99. He’s got very little baggage
98. He’s run a positive campaign
97. He’s my age
96. His innovative use of technology
95. He gets things done
94. His openness
93. His commitment to Saskatchewan
92. He dreams big
91. His potential as a transformative leader for the province

2013 Reasons
90. I voted for his last time
89. His team
88. His book
87. He grew up on a farm
86. He dropped out of Sutherland (but kept his beard)
85. He makes politics fun
84. He turns it up to 10!
83. That positive thing
82. He’s proved the doubters wrong
81. He’s the best choice. Period.

Some of the Specific Reasons I Gave In My Final 2013 Post of *Why* I Thought Ryan Was The Best Choice – Period.
80.  He out fundraised all three other leadership candidates in 2013
79.  He’s done innovative fundraisers in his leadership runs from “money bombs” to book sales
78. He’s done extremely well in bringing in new people to the party
77. He appeals to everyone from the former leader of the Green Party to right-wing radio host John Gormley who’s been quoted as saying “I’ve got a lot of time for [Meili].”
76. His in-depth knowledge of our healthcare system which is consistently a top-ranked issue for voters
75. His successful integration of technology and social media in his campaign
74. His roots and work in rural Saskatchewan
73. His strong connection to northern Saskatchewan as well as his development work overseas
72. His respect for (and from) Saskatchewan’s Indigenous people
71. The (unexpected?) support he’s gotten from unions

Reasons from “12 Days, 12 Stories, 12 Ways to Help” Ryan Posted to Facebook Over The Holidays During the 2013 Race
70. His family
69. He came to his social democratic values when he was young .
68. He’s traveled to every corner of the province as a doctor, author and politician.
67. His effective use of social media and new technology.
66. He is musical having played guitar and sang in bands.
65. His love of language.
64. He knows how to deal with personal handicaps.
63. He’s the author of a bestselling book.
62. His ongoing work to protect Medicare.
61. He’s a nice guy who practices positive politics.
60. His creative fundraising efforts, from before he entered medical school up to his campaigns which have featured ideas including “Money Bombs” and “Book Bombs”.

59. Ryan is a lover of language who is a master of clever puns and quick-witted wordplay which serves him well, whether in the Legislature, in debates or at events.
58. He authored a highly readable but also detailed book about his views on politics.
57. He speaks French fluently.
56. He speaks Spanish fluently.
55. He speaks Portuguese fluently.
54. He has a basic understanding of Xitswa, the local language of rural Mozambique where he’s frequently practiced medicine in the past.
53. He’s picked up a few words in Cree and Dene.
52. He’s also picked up a few words in Tagalog, Bengali and Tamil.
51. I don’t know for sure but suspect he probably knows a few words in American Sign Language too! 😉

50. I’ve compared Ryan to Tommy Douglas.
49. I’ve compared Ryan to Barack Obama.
48. I’ve compared Ryan to Bernie Sanders.
47. I’ve compared Ryan (jokingly?) to Gandhi.
46. But ultimately, Ryan is none of those and those comparisons, though useful shorthand for what type of leadership he would provide or what type of personality he has, are meaningless and if elected, he will obviously be his own person – with all the strengths and weaknesses that entails. With that said, a leader who shares some of the best qualities of Douglas (knowledge of healthcare) and Obama (skilled use of technology) and Sanders (strong grassroots support) sounds okay to me!
45. Ryan has lived and worked in rural Saskatchewan.
44. Ryan has lived and worked in northern Saskatchewan.
43. Ryan has lived and worked in mostly First Nations communities.
42. Ryan has lived and worked in Saskatchewan’s largest and most vibrant city.
41. Ryan has lived and worked in the inner-city of a major urban centre.

[40 – 31 Redacted.  I thought about listing 10 reasons that focus on why I decided to continue to support Ryan rather than his opponent and/or what I saw as some of his opponent’s weaknesses.  But, because of Ryan’s focus on running a positive campaign and doing politics differently, I decided to not put anything that might be considered a smear or an attack – whether intended that way or not.  But I have written those ten reasons and I don’t think any of them would be a surprise to anyone following this race or Saskatchewan politics in general over the past decade of why I think Ryan would make a better leader than his opponent or what some of his opponent’s biggest weaknesses are and why they could be more problematic for the NDP going forward than Ryan’s own weaknesses.]

30. When Ryan did it in his first run in 2009, it was probably partly due to a lack of options.  But in 2017/18, Ryan continues to feature endorsements by lesser-known party members, activists and others instead of only those who have high name recognition within the NDP.
29. Ryan was endorsed by Tom Mulcair, arguably the biggest political name to endorse during this race.  This is doubly important because you’d expect Ryan to be endorsed by someone who’s seen as equally “left wing” like Niki Ashton, not someone who’s perceived as a centrist (and former Liberal) like Mulcair.
28. Ryan was endorsed by Yann Martel, arguably the most famous endorser for either candidate.
27.  In the age of #metoo, Ryan was endorsed by the young woman who, arguably more than anyone in the province, has done more to put a focus on the issue within politics in general and the NDP in particular.
26. I didn’t do a specific count but it’s very telling that Trent is getting a lot of his endorsements from *current* MLA’s whereas Ryan seems to be getting a lot of endorsements (or behind-the-scenes support) from people who ran in the last election but were not successful and maybe have more insight into some of the problems the NDP needs to fix on the front lines and in the wider community than those who have served, often in safe NDP seats and/or for multiple terms.
25. Out of the former candidates who have endorsed, Ryan has more from rural candidates and more from across all areas of the province compared to his opponent who’s gotten most of his support from Regina-based former candidates or those in Saskatoon with very few (none?) who live outside the two major centres.
24. It’s not just *who* endorsed but how. Ryan has been very strategic with releasing his endorsements – for example, releasing endorsements by two members of the USSU right before a debate at the U of S or an endorsement by nationally known writer, Trevor Herriot the same day as Herriot’s editorial calling for change appeared in newspapers.  Heck, my own endorsement, where I talk about Ryan’s love of language, the book he authored and his lifelong love of libraries was released, very fittingly, on Family Literacy Day.  That to me shows a team that’s paying attention to the details and maximizing the impact of the things they’re putting out whether its policy, endorsements or what have you.  It also makes me think that Ryan’s a leader who will make things happen in an organized, strategic fashion.
23. Ryan has addressed most of the main criticisms that he’s faced.  For example, one of the biggest charges against him in the last leadership race was “He’s not an MLA”.  Now he’s an MLA (though that just means the goal posts move again – others now say “He’s not an *experienced* enough MLA which I find funny as I don’t think the NDP’s last decade are anything that anybody should brag about or cite as an example of building leadership!) 🙂
22. After losing the last leadership race, Ryan re-grouped and founded the “Upstream Institute for a Healthier Society” which has quickly attained a major national profile as a think tank and social movement.
21. Ryan has an honesty and a sincerity that shine through when you talk to him.

20. In each of his three leadership campaigns, Ryan’s had a female campaign manager.
19.  In the current race, his campaign manager is a woman (and without going negative, I’ll just state the fact that also he’s the only candidate in the race with a female campaign manager!) 😉
18. He’s surrounded himself with many other highly qualified women in his political and other activities.
17. Ryan’s wife is a highly qualified pediatrician who has also had published articles and chapters in books and done a great deal of advocacy work for different groups – most notably children of immigrant families.
16. To me, he’s had the most engaging video content once again.
15. He’s also had the most engagement online once again
14.  If this was a job interview (which it sort of is, I guess) and you started by looking at Ryan’s paper resume alone without knowing anything about him or his opponent, he’d be hard to beat just on that basis alone.
13. As a doctor, Ryan has had formal training in the hard sciences.
12. Because of that, he is a believer in evidence-based practice and says that’s how he would try to do politics too – making the best decisions based on evidence instead of “what the base wants” or “what will help us win the next election”.
11. Ryan isn’t a “typical politician.  He’s both more inspirational and more aspirational with his skill at showing how  our strengths lie as a unified group and how “we” is more important than “me” in a province like Saskatchewan.

10. As I type this, both Trent and Ryan have released about a dozen policy statements give or take.  But I find Ryan’s more detailed but also more open to saying “I’m not going to define this – I’m going to consult people and develop it to make it the best it can be.”  I also like that Ryan has released some unique ones – Arts & Culture being the one that appeals to me personally.
9.  In terms of what might be termed their “signature” issues in terms of which policy they released earliest and have given a lot of focus to, Ryan’s is “Universal Pharmacare” while Trent’s seems to be “Universal Mental Health Care”.  Obviously both are very important but I think that Universal Pharmacare, which is provided in every nation that has a national health system *except* Canada has the potential to be the most beneficial to society overall.  It’s also very clear to anyone *why* Dr. Ryan Meili would make universal pharmacare his signature issue whereas I’ve never had it made clear why universal mental health care is so core to Ryan’s opponent’s policy approach.
8.  Many worry that Ryan will be portrayed as “too far left” by the Sask Party.  I have two problems with this – worrying about what the other guys might do is self-defeating and it also ignores that, for most non-political junkies, they don’t even think in terms of “left vs. right” but instead, “right vs. wrong” and I think Ryan is very convincing when he talks about what we, as a society, want to do well for everyone, not just for the wealthiest individuals or powerful corporations.
7.  Once again, Ryan’s campaign has dominated in fundraising, earning almost twice as much as his opponent.
6. This is related to that last point but can’t be stressed enough – Ryan took a very risky but principled position in refusing to accept corporate and union donations during this leadership race – a position endorsed by the Sask NDP as a party and which his opponent had actually advocated for in the Legislature.  This position could’ve just as easily sunk Ryan’s campaign before it even began.  But people have responded – with more people donating and with Ryan raising twice what his opponent has – even without (financial) support from unions or corporations.
5.  Ryan’s personality, his profession and his performance in this, and previous leadership contests, make him the candidate who is best positioned to rebuild the NDP.
4. Like any candidates, both Trent and Ryan have positives and negatives.  But I think Ryan’s negatives would be much easier to refute/counter in an election campaign than Trent’s would be (if you want to see that redacted list I mentioned above, just drop me a line!) 😉
3. Frankly, there are a lot people who were absolutely certain that Dwain Lingenfelter and later, Cam Broten, were the answer to the Sask NDP’s woes.  I’ve blogged about this and how many of those people weren’t wrong exactly (since they had good reasons for who they supported) but, whether they admit it now or not, they *were* ultimately mistaken.  Ryan is (and has always been) something new, different and unique compared to the others who’ve run for the leadership of the NDP and honestly, at this point after ten years in the wilderness, it feels like the NDP has nothing to lose by electing him and trying something new, different, bold and unique.
2. Ryan truly *walks the walk* of being a democratic socialist.  He actually practices what he preaches and lives in the inner-city of Saskatoon among some of the poorest in our society.  He goes overseas to work directly on international development and provide medical aid.
1.  Whether we like it or not, we live in a world where pretty much all politicians are regarded as somewhere between used car salesmen and Nigerian Princes on the trust-o-meter but as a relative newcomer to elected politics and as a former doctor (one of the most trusted professions in society), Ryan is someone that I know voters will trust which, rightly or wrongly, is not the case for the majority of other politicians.