Thoughts on BC Politics and More

This morning, I received an email from "Nomen Nescio".   Never heard of him?   Well neither had I until this morning.   For those unaware, and according to Wikipedia, Nomen Nescio is used to signify an anonymous or unnamed person. From Latin nomen , name , and nescio , I do not know (from nescire , not to know ), it literally means, I do not know the name. So what did Nomen Nescio have to say?     "... the president and board of directors of the BC Conservative Party have failed Kamloops. Their lack of organization and capacity for making disastrous decisions in the months leading up to the May 9, 2017 Provincial General Election (e.g. not appointing a Party Leader, nominating only 10 of 87 candidates, releasing an incredibly weak pre-election platform, and leaving all major planning decisions to the last minute) undermined our Party's election performance. In the end, we captured 0.5% of the popular vote, about 1/10th of the popu...

2016 is hours away from wrapping up, and a new year looms just over the horizon.  Before I go though, I took some time this morning to have a look back at some stories from the blog this past year.   Not surprisingly, the two top stories were about the BC Conservative Party. " Wasting one more minute of time and energy in the BC Conservative Party, by anyone, is sheer lunacy !"  from February 5th   " Dan Brooks hold, on the helm of the BC Conservative Party, seems very much in question "  from October 20th   Following that, from October 9th, came " How Much More Then Could We Be Thankful For? On November 17th, " REALLY ... there aren't enough places already for people to get a drink? " caught peoples attention And " You are welcome to believe whatever you want. I have to tell you however, you are living in a dream world if you think the majority of British Columbians will agree with you ....

Until early in the week of October 23rd, a very interesting scenario, in BC politics, was being set up.  What you say?  Well it appeared, at least at first glance, that perhaps for the first time in decades, the people of British Columbia might actually have more than two viable parties from which to cast a ballot for. Back in the early 1950s, British Columbians elected members to the Legislative Assembly from the Conservatives, Liberals, Social Credit, Labour and the NDP (1952 / 53).  Again, in 1972 and 1975, voters sent MLA's to Victoria from the Conservatives, Liberals, Social Credit and the NDP. This time around, again at least until early last week when the BC Conservative Party bounced newly re-elected leader Dan Brooks from his post, it appeared that perhaps, we might again see members from four parties in the legislature. And with good reason. 1)  The NDP are stubbornly disenfranchising one of...

WIKIPEDIA: The British Columbia Conservative Party is a political party in British Columbia. First elected as the government in 1903, the party went into decline after 1933. On July 18, 2013, John Cummins resigned from the position of party leader.   Dan Brooks was elected the new leader of the party on April 12, 2014, then resigned at the party's Annual General Meeting on February 20, 2016. Brooks was re-elected as leader at a leadership convention held on September 17, 2016. GLOBAL NEWS: The British Columbia Conservative party is leaderless again.   Dan Brooks says the party’s board has stripped him of his leadership on a technicality.   “They don’t have a leader, they don’t have any money, they don’t have any idea of who could be the leader. The only thing that is going to save (them) is a miraculous emergence of a very high profile individual politician who thinks they can somehow save the BC Conservatives,” he says. “They’re like pray...

On October 2nd, I wrote a post entitled, " Where will those votes go? Most likely to the BC Liberals, while those individuals hold their noses to place their"X" on a ballot " I started off by saying: On September 27th, an online petition suddenly appeared on iPetitions.com. Individuals were asked to sign for the following reason: QUOTE: "Complaint against Dan Brooks for deliberate violation of party constitution" (please join me in supporting this worthwhile cause) It lasted for three days, and then was taken down. What's interesting, and no longer available to be seen, was the comment that Dan Brooks had illegally used the membership list in his quest to regain the leadership of the BC Conservative Party, and some questions as to interference in the website of a fellow leadership candidate. So, what happened to the petition?  Did the organizers have second thoughts, or did the Board and Executive of the BC Conserv...

On September 27th, an online petition suddenly appeared on iPetitions.com. Individuals were asked to sign for the following reason: QUOTE: " Complaint against Dan Brooks for deliberate violation of party constitution " (please join me in supporting this worthwhile cause) It lasted for three days, and then was taken down. What's interesting, and no longer available to be seen, was the comment that Dan Brooks had illegally used the membership list in his quest to regain the leadership of the BC Conservative Party, and some questions as to interference in the website of a fellow leadership candidate. So, what happened to the petition?  Did the organizers have second thoughts, or did the Board and Executive of the BC Conservative Party threaten some kind of legal action?  These kind of discussions are generally held in camera, so we will likely never know.   Backing up a few days to September 25th, I posted the following on social media: A new Board Execu...

A penny for your thoughts? As of a week ago, the BC Conservative Party elected a new Board and Executive ... and new Leader, in Dan Brooks, who was the old leader that resigned in January of this year. I'm interested in hearing the thoughts of individuals who are in the party, and those outside who are former members, on where YOU think the Party goes from here, and it's chances of success in the upcoming provincial election in May 2017. Just so you know, I am asking this as I will be doing a blog post in a few days, and just wanted to hear your thoughts -- WHICH WILL BE USED ANONYMOUSLY ( unless you say otherwise and permit me to use your name ). Please send them by email to me at whatsnextbc@gmail.com. Thanks in advance

Out of respect to the BC Conservative Party, and to its members, I have held back from stronger comments I have had around concerns for its future.    NOT ANY MORE.     Here and now I will publicly state that a majority (how large or small I do not know) of the BC Conservative Party Executive and Board do not have a bloody clue what they are doing.   In fact, they seem hell bent for leather in destroying the last scrap of credibility it has, small as it may be. This was infinitely confirmed to me today when I received an email from Dan Denis, a former member, who in fact spent time as a member of the BC Conservative Executive a few years back.   In it, he stated that upon the urging of fellow conservatives, he had been encouraged to take out a membership once again.   They response of the Membership Chair Bob Bray, and by extension the Board and Executive of the Party, was to refuse it. Dan stated: I have officially bee...

The BC Conservative Party has just released the following in the past three quarters of an hour.  Leader Dan Brooks has announced he is leaving the post     From: BC Conservative Party < info@bcconservative.ca > Date: January 4, 2016 at 12:29:21 PM PST To: xxxxxxxx Subject: BC Conservative Leader Dan Brooks Resigns     Vanderhoof, BC ( January 4, 2016 ) - Dan Brooks, who led the BC Conservatives from April 2014 until now, has resigned as leader. He has been asked by the Party to serve temporarily as interim leader until February 20, 2016 . "It has been an honour to serve the people of British Columbia as leader of the BC Conservative Party, but the time has come for me to pass the torch." Brooks said, acknowledging that his term as a volunteer leader was both challenging and rewarding, but that the time had come to refocus on family and business. "My resignation opens a range of opportunities for the Party to find new leadership, ...

On Thursday (December 10th) Dan Brooks, leader of the BC Conservative Party, issued a media release regarding Senate appointments, the case for BC holding elections to fill vacancies, and for BC to receive a number of seats EQUAL to the population of our province.   The text of the release, put forward, was as follows: ... a better alternative towards reforming Canada's Senate: the direct election of 13 Senators by and for British Columbia. ... Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed a new formula to fill Senate vacancies in which five The Canadian Senate citizens would be selected, including three appointees by the federal government and two by the province involved.  These appointees would develop a list of candidates meeting an improved set of qualifications to be a Senator from which the Prime Minister would select the eventual appointee ... the Prime Minister may informally consult the province involved but is not required to do so. That proposal was p...

What happened in Victoria last week?   Well for those interested in politics, the end of the week was the final sitting of the legislature for this session.   It was a day where a lot of reflecting on how the Fall session had gone, what had been accomplished, what could or should have, etc … and all of the media political reporters were there to get the comments on those and other things, from BC Liberal leader Christy Clark, and NDP leader John Horgan. In other words, the perfect opportunity to capture the media’s attention with a well-placed shot across the bow message.   Which party was missing from the BC Legislature to capitalize on this opportunity?   Dan Brooks and the BC Conservative Party. I met with Dan Brooks nearly two weeks ago, in Kamloops, to talk . At that time I suggested that he throw away his 'Pablum' stump speech and start getting hard-hitting. ASK … where are the tens of thousands of jobs that Christy Clark promised would ...

If you recall, I quit the BC Conservative Party this past Spring, following the Executive and Board of the BC Conservative Party offering an apology to Alison Paton and company, and re-instatement of their memberships. Their carefully planned sabotage of the party, timely due to the closeness of the election, led to damage the Conservatives were never able to recover from in time for the May 2013 election.  As has been stated here, and elsewhere, it was sabotage plain and simple. What was the result of their dissension ?  Not one single BC Conservative candidate was elected! I have been vocal, and public, in my comments about the party since asking for my membership to be removed.  I was not alone in this; I was simply public about it.  Other members simply disengaged and walked away in disgust at the lack of direction, or failed to renew their memberships. So, let’s have a quick recap. I quit because of the actions of the bo...

Last night, I had the opportunity to meet one on one with BC Conservative Party Leader Dan Brooks, here in Kamloops.   He'd had a long drive, coming down from Vanderhoof, and I could tell the length of the day, and the miles, had worn him out.   Part way through the day, he let me know that he was going to be delayed. It seems that just a short distance out of Williams Lake, he'd received a phone call from someone in Quesnel wanting to talk to him about running as a Conservative candidate, in the Quesnel North riding, in the next election.   He turned the truck around and headed back North to meet with the individual, and then headed back on his way to Kamloops; no wonder he looked worn! What's with political life that it takes someone young and vibrant, and seems to wear them down before your eyes?   I remember the provincial campaign, in the late 70's, when Dave Barrett's NDP government went down to defeat after just one term.   I also remember B...

While many existing members of the BC Conservative Party --- and others who have left --- are asking, “What relevance to British Columbian voters does the BC Conservative Party have?”, the party itself is now asking its members this question: “Do you want to change the name of the Party; and if so, to what?” An email has been sent to remaining members of the Party (that they still have up-to-date email addresses for, as well as a select number of former members, with the following message: Memo to: Active and some expired members with a current email address The possibility of a name change for the BC Conservative Party has been a discussion topic among members for a number of years. The Board of Directors decided in September to address this long standing issue by creating a committee to examine the feasibility of changing the Party name. Party members Joan Robinson of Victoria and Frank Dubenski of Qualicum Beach have volunteered to c...

This may come as a surprise to some, however with much regret and disappointment, the following notification, was sent by me, to the BC Conservative Party on Saturday May 23rd. BC Conservative Party Attention: Dan Brooks; Party Leader Ian MacDonald; Party President This morning my Google News Alert pointed me to an article in The Peace Arch News entitled " BC Conservatives apologize to ousted South Surrey member ". Dr. Allison Patton I vividly recall Ms Patton and company doing everything they could to reek havoc within the BC Conservative Party, undermining us, and totally destroying any and all chances to be successful in the last provincial election. Upon reading the above noted news story, and knowing the vicious campaign Patton, Eckardt, and Crocock waged against the BC Conservative party, I can no longer continue as a Party member. This trio, along with others, completely negated the thousands and thousand of hours hundreds of individuals, ...