I went to the Calgary Confederation all-candidates meeting this afternoon at the Varsity Community Association. It was a surprisingly large turnout which makes me wonder if this riding is actually in play and not a CPC shoe in. To his credit, Len Webber, the CPC candidate, showed up.
The other candidates were Natalie Odd, Green Party, Matt Grant, Liberal Party, and Kirk Heuser, NDP.
I really dislike the hyper-partisans of any political stripe. The cries of "Shame!" and sign waving was a bit much. There were a bunch of elderly women in the front row with CPC T-shirts and signs that were constantly dismayed and making faces whenever someone other than Webber spoke. It was nice to see Grant address them directly at one point which put a stop to their nonsense.
Heuser undoubtedly has oratory skill, having a been a broadcaster his entire life. He spoke well, with authority, and added humour along the way. Judging on that alone, he was ahead of the others. I wonder how many are swayed by that.
I was leaning Liberal but now I am undecided. Nothing Webber said convinced me he's the right man for the job but I wasn't going to vote CPC this time anyway. Mrs. Odd from the Green Party made some cogent points that got applause from the entire crowd. While you have to commend her for running, I think it's a wasted vote.
I probably won't make a decision until the ballot box.
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