I'll admit it, Don Braid's article in the Calgary Herald speculating that the election could be in April instead of March made me cranky. For most election-weary Albertans, this news may provoke a shrug of indifference or prompt the advice I received this morning on twitter: "Get over it!"  But I hope you will take the time to read why this matters, how it is impacting my life, how it creates unnecessary barriers for citizen engagement, weakens our democracy and is the symptom of a larger problem facing school boards, municipal governments, nonprofit organizations and even the healthcare system.  

First, let's start with ther personal story. I became the official candidate in June 2011, shortly after completing my contract as Acting Leader and I began preparing for a fall election. Everyone at that time was predicting a Gary Mar victory and because he needed a seat, an election was a real possibility. I assembled a team, ordered flyers, bought lawn signs and decided to commit full-time to the campaign, forgoing any job opportunties, in light of the enormous challenge of preparing for an election with a brand new party. The fall election didn't happen, of course. I congratulated Premier Redford on her promise of a fixed election date- at least I wouldn't have to prepare for false futures again and decided to look positively on all that we had accomplished in the fall.  But of course, the fixed election date didn't happen.

My team continued to put in the hard work, while my husband and I struggled with the reality that we were facing several more months of financial uncertainty. It's hard to find a job that is flexible enough to grant a 28-day leave of absence "sometime in the spring" and I still wanted to have time to work on the campaign. We decided (again) to make the sacrifice and allow me to focus full-time on the campaign. After Christmas, all signs seemed to be pointing to a Feb 13 Writ Drop, so we assumed we were in the home stretch. We were "in for a penny, in for a pound" as the saying goes and it seemed silly for me to look for work as things we just about to really get going.  Now, of course, it's changed again.  By the time all is said and done, I may have forfeited 11 months' salary for this campaign. We are not independently wealthy; my husband is a teacher, so this is a considerable sacrifice. 

But, for those who don't know me or my family, this story may not be of any consequence. It was, after all, my choice.

So let's look at this from a more general sense.  How can you encourage people to run for office when everything is so vague? Who is going to drop their lives, their jobs and commit to a campaign for an election that will happen "sometime between March and May"? How can you plan your leave of absence from work? How do you line up additional child care to cover the campaign period? When do you rent your campaign office? When do you order your phone lines and wifi for your office- remember you will need to book that two weeks in advance of the office opening! When do you need to buy your lawn signs? Without fixed election dates, our democracy is seriously compromised, because we place serious limits on who can even consider running for office.

But for people who have never been involved in a campaign or don't like politicians, these challenges may also provoke indifference.

So let's look at it from the standpoint of the "average Albertan."  Wouldn't voters like to know when the election will be? Every other level of government manages to work with fixed election dates, there is no credible reason why we can't do the same at the provincial level. Dave Hancock, a man of intelligence, must have had to choke out the words that the three month window was to allow flexibility in case of inclement weather.

As citizens we should be asking: Do we want candidates who are committed to their community and willing to put in the hard work? Or do we just want someone who will throw something together at the last minute and hide behind their party banner or leader?  Do we believe seeking office should be open to all or only those with the financial means or who choose to run for the PCs? Do we believe that all candidates should be treated fairly and equally? That they should all know when the election will be held, have sufficient time to prepare and run credible campaigns? OR do we believe in a winner-takes-all politics, where the party in power has earned advantages and should exploit those advantages however they see fit?  In essence, what kind of democracy do we want?

Finally, I think the desire to "hold all the cards" around the election date is symptomatic of a much larger issue. We see unequal power, a lack of open dialogue, long-term planning and respect in many other areas- it is evidenced in the unpredictable nature of funding for school boards, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations. While I was on the school board, we wasted countless hours of skilled people's time preparing multiple budgets. We never knew what was going to happen, so we had to prepare for scenario one, two and three. We spent hours trying to figure out which was more likely, hedging our bets and ultimately wasting precious time and energy preparing for false futures. I hear similar stories from municipalities and nonprofits. When the provincial government fails to communicate clearly, openly and with respect, many people are left floundering. In healthcare, the different approaches, backtracking and regrouping has left healthcare workers frustrated and demoralized. Ultimately, the government needs to stop feeling they are the ones who make all the decisions and they need to share that power with the people of this province. They need to let go and trust that the people are the ones who know where this province should go. They are not sheep. They are not children. They are rationale and they can be trusted to make good decisions...including which candidate is most deserving and capable.

It all comes down to trust and focusing on serving the best interests of Albertans, not the best methods of preserving and promoting power.