Others have weighed in with their thoughts on the first All-Candidates Forum (and one thing that is clear from the varied commentary I’ve seen online and heard directly from others) is that no one really “won” the debate and instead, by the end of the night, the (relatively) equal footing of the various candidates so far was re-confirmed.
I may add some additional observations at some point but for now, I want to hone in on one specific thought that kept occurring to me as I watched the four candidates last Saturday and heard them drawing on their previous and current experience to answer the various questions.
Obviously, the reality is that there can only be one ultimate winner at the end of this contest. But even knowing that, when the NDP gets back in power, I’d say they’re poised to have a blockbuster of a cabinet.
Really, with one minor exception, all candidates would immediately slot into high-profile portfolios given their education and work backgrounds…
Ryan Meili – Health
Erin Weir – Finance
Trent Wotherspoon – Education
The only candidate who doesn’t seem to have had a professional career before entering politics that would naturally connect them to an existing portfolio is Cam Broten whose biography on his web site lists tree planting, teaching assistant at a University, government facilitator and policy analyst as his previous jobs.
That’s not a slam on Cam as I’m sure there are lots of portfolios that don’t obviously tie in to a person’s previous experience (as a silly example, I suspect most Highways Ministers don’t have much more experience with Highways beyond driving on them prior to assuming that vital role!)
And since becoming an MLA five years ago, he served as opposition critic for Advanced Education & Youth previously and now as Critic for Health, Seniors, Advanced Education, Employment, and Immigration (which also shows how stretched current MLA’s are after the disastrous 2011 election – Cam went for responsibility for two areas to five!)
But as I said, it jumped out to me at the debate that Cam’s the only one who doesn’t have a natural spot to be slotted in a future cabinet based on his education and work background – although I’m sure he’d excel in whichever role the future leader were to assign him.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks 2