pegasus
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Posts posted by pegasus
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Sounds like bullshit to me. Candidates are determined by nominations from within the riding association and then the membership votes to determine the winning candidate. Qualifications are nice and usefull but can very well be ignored by the membership during a vote for any number of reasons - the primary one being 'that guys an idiot!'
It isnt a 'job' to be applied for.
How does one go about becoming a candidate for a political party? Until recently, the NDP were non-existant here in Quebec. I have been a supporter of the party since I was 18. I have been a member of this party for the last 20 years. (And you have to pay to be a member of the NDP)
Speaking as someone who's done more constituency work than an awful lot of people, and who has had the unfortunate task of helping to recruit a sacrificial lamb candidate for an unwinnable seat..... if someone wandered into the committee rooms I was tending a few days after a couple of days after an election was called, resume and nomination papers in hand to apply for the position of 'candidate', I'd probably tell them as politely as I could possibly muster that they were 'not qualified', too.
Why?
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The NDP were clearly using these hopeless ridings to run females so they could boast about the % of female candidates they were running. That's part of it anyway. But there's more. Was there a local riding association in that riding? If so, you don't just show up and offer to be a candidate. The riding association usually chooses someone from amongst its members. Either that or HQ parachutes someone there they want to give a chance to. In some ridings, clearly, they took just about anything they could get because they thought they were hopeless. But I'm sure not all the ridings, even the hopeless ones, had mere placeholders. Parties sometimes use these ridings to train candidates who might have a shot elsewhere. They get some experience in running an election campaign and the party gets to see them in action to determine if they're worth putting into a better riding next time around.
It could have been that if you had offered yourself as a candidate in one of the other ridings you'd have been accepted because they had no one there and wound up using people of limited qualifications. Or maybe there was some other reason. Maybe the person didn't like your looks, or thought there was something else about you likely to cause controversy or trouble.
I offered my services in any riding available, and at the time, there were many. I was told I was unqualified less than one week after the initial campaigning begun. (Yes...I really wanted to do this) I even told the person that if someone was already chosen for my riding, then I would like to run in any other riding, anywhere in Canada, not just Quebec.
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Did you ask what specifically made you unqualified? If not, you should.
I never asked. As I said earlier, I'm pretty green at this. So I just figured they already had more qualified candidates waiting in the wings.
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Pegasus, just curious....
Have you always supported the NDP....or were you affiliated with any other party?
Why did you choose to run for the NDP?
Do you plan to run as an independent in the next election?
I have always supported the NDP. I am not affiliated with any other party. And this is why I chose to run for the NDP. I also chose to run for the NDP because I figured I'd lose. I just really wanted to get a better idea as to how the election process worked. Under regular circumstances, I probably wouldn't even complain, but knowing that if I would have run in the community that I wanted to run in, and won, such as the person who did run in my community, I would not be sitting here in my one bedroom apartment, waiting for my call from work where I have to go in and service the very people who are now MPs.
I don't plan to run as an independent next election.
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If the story as told is true, then there must have been some underlying issues that haven't been made known.
I met with the first person at the NDP office for no longer than 20 minutes. I came in with my list of signatures and my diploma and references from the places I volunteered at. I was clean shaven and well dressed. Whatever underlying issues there were, were never conveyed to me. He looked over everything I brought, asked me a few questions, such as why I want to run as an NDP candidate. Then non-chalantly handed everything back to me and told me that I didn't have the necessary qualifications to run as an MP. Having no experience in this matter, I took what he said as gospel, and left thinking that all the ridings were already filled up with Doctors and Lawyers.
Little did I know they were being reserved for teenagers and barmaids.
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Maybe because you are a guy, they have been told to recruit more women haven't they ?
Actually, I am a guy. (I don't know why it says female on my profile. I'm going to have to change that) But nevertheless, a 19 year old, teenage boy, was placed as a candidate. I'm just stumped
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On Tuesday May 3rd, I returned to the Office in Limoilou and congratulated the new MP, who was with one other person. This other person was not the same person who I originally met weeks earlier and told me I didn't have the qualifications to run. I went to offer my services to help the new minister in any way I can, and was given an e-mail address to write to. I sent them an e-mail and have yet to receive a reply.
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Perhaps the OP could be so kind as to identify which riding it was and which office was involved?
It was the Limoilou Office here in Quebec City on Eugene-Lamontagne Ave. where I tried to submit my candidacy. I wanted to run in NDG/Cote-St.Luc/Montreal West riding in Montreal, but I would have been happy to run in any riding available. I wanted to go to the office in St. Foy, but I had no idea where it was. But I knew of the existance of the one on Eugene-Lamontagne because I went by it on many occasions.
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Sometimes things happen for a reason. Perhaps you're spared the scrutiny these NDP rookies will be given by the media that hungers for riveting news.
Look on the bright side. Don't let this sad experience derail you from your goal.
Prepare for next time.
I would have gladly taken the scrutiny of the press in order to represent my constituents of the place I grew up. Working for the country and its people are more than worth my personal discomfort. Besides, being placed under scrutiny has always been something I've had to deal with. It would be nothing new to me, just on a grander scale.
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Something not adding up here.
And what would that be? If you are guessing I have a criminal record, guess again. In my present job, I work for a private company that deals with various levels of government. As such, I had to be placed through a background check. I presently have Level II security clearance. I have no debts that I am not paying down, so therefore, I could probably attain Top Secret security clearance if necessary.
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It's not what you can do. It's who you know. That's life. Sorry for the rough introduction.
It appears so
In four years from now, knowing what I know now, I will not make the same mistake, and I will spend the next four years preparing to take a seat away from an incumbent NDPer by telling my story. Regular everyday folk?....what BS -
I tried, just recently, http://www.mapleleafweb.com/forums//index.php?showtopic=18875 Apparently skill is not something the political parties are looking for either. They appear to seek candidates from keg parties.
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The mentally ill is another storey, but in many circumstances they would rather be “on their own” then kept in a mental health center.
The mentally ill are not "on their own" due to their own reasoning. They are "on their own" because there is no money for them to be kept in institutions. This is called "deinstitutionalization", and is a growing trend to save money in health care. It is these people who end up on the streets, but not by their own accord.
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Thats funny, everytime I see a homeless person on the street asking for spare change or washing windows at a red light, I offer them a days work cutting my grass, cut some hedges and dig out an old stump. My offer is always the same, $250 bucks for the day, the use of my tools, a free lunch & all the coffee they can drink and a ride to and from my place.........to a person, they give me a look like I have three heads and walk away......
If I got this offer, I'd be jumping up and down for joy. I kill myself everyday at work, at bizarre hours, catering to MPs every whim, (MPs who don't even have college diplomas) and I earn less than $100 a day minus taxes. Some weeks I work full-time and others not. But being on call 24/7, my hands are tied getting a second job. And I have a couple of bachelor degrees to pay for to boot. Thank goodness I'm single living in a crappy basement one room apartment. At least I can put away $100 a month, maybe, after bills for a little vacation once a year, to visit my mother.
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Two days after the Federal election was called, I went out on a limb and decided to run as a member of the NDP in my old riding where I grew up. I went out and collected signatures (which took me a few days) and ended up with more than the 100 necessary. I then went to my local NDP office and asked if I could run as a member of the NDP, whom I had voted for every election since I could vote.
I have always wanted to work for the Federal Government. I have taken their tests and apply for all the jobs that are posted that I believe I am qualified for. I even once considered the military. But never to any avail. I am right now working a decent job in the private industry, but it has never been my dream. So I decided to go for a seat.
Running as a local NDP candidate did not guarantee me a win. Where I wanted to run has been a Liberal stronghold for the last 50 years. But I figured I'd give it a shot. Being my first go at this, I listened to everything they told me and took everything as gospel. I brought my signatures to the office and my credentials, and I was told that I was not qualified. That being said, I packed up my stuff and left the office, and on election night I voted for the NDP, as I always do.
I live in Quebec, and I finished University quite some time ago with a major/minor in Psychology/Education. I spent 10 years volunteering with children. I helped at a mental institution for 2 years. I've collected funds for the poor. I speak both official languages and I was born in Ottawa, raised in Montreal and now live in Quebec City which is 99 percent French.
Under normal circumstances I wouldn't complain, however, when I saw the credentials of some of the candidates who had actually become NDP candidates, one of which was in the riding I wanted to run in and who had far less credentials than I, and won, I almost flipped. So as you can all see, I'm a little upset with the NDP party right now and their caucus of fully qualified individuals, of which I am apparently not
So my question is; how come I was told I was not qualified to run as an NDP candidate in this election when there were others who had far less qualifications than I, who won?
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It looks like Rousseau will be staying
How the NDP frustrates me
in Federal Politics in Canada
Posted
I am a member of the NDP party. I have been for the last 20 years.