Good Bye To A Good Friend

The news hit hard. The emails flew all day yesterday across Ontario and the country in Conservative circles.

We lost a good friend Thursday night when Peter Naglik's vehicle left Boundary Road around 2:30 in the morning.

I had met Peter on several occasions over the past few years, but none more impressionable than the two campaign training seminars he spoke to us at. He definitely knew his stuff and his one on one advice and counsel was wise and genuine.
I will always remember him for that.

Peter had worked at one time as a speechwriter for Stephen Harper and had been very active with the Ontario PC party as well, especially in Eastern Ontario.

Federally, he was the very successful campaign manager for the now elected MP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russel, Pierre Lemieux.

He'll be missed and inspired by many.

The latest that I have on arrangements arrived this morning in an email from Ontario PC Eastern region president, Judy Bobka

Eastern Ontario PC Riding Presidents & Friends

I'm very sad to report that Peter Naglik died in a car accident on Thurs. Sept 29, 2006.

Many in Eastern Ontario had the good fortune to be encouraged, supported or directed by Peter Naglik on political affairs.

The arrangements for Peter are as follows:

Visitation at Paul O'Connor Funeral Home, 1939 Lawrence Ave E, Scarborough, Ont., Wednesday, October 4, from 3-5 pm and 7-9 pm and Thursday 9:30-10:30 am (I believe at the church prior to the funeral). Funeral Thursday, October 5, at St. Martin de Porres Roman Catholic Church at 10:30 am, 4179 Lawrence Ave. E. , Scarborough , Ont

For those people traveling from Ottawa a bus service will be departing from the Confederation Building on Wellington at 5am and returning from Toronto Thursday afternoon. If you would like to go via this bus please RSVP to Vida Brodie at vidabrodie@sympatico.ca

Blackberry Fun

I just tried this with my other blog at http://woodysworldbog.blogspot.com and, lo and behold, it freakin' worked.

Blogging by blackberry is opening up a whole new world of wonders for the Woodman, whose eloquent alliteration is quickly becoming inanely annoying.

Now I feel I can control my urges to babble at will in the palm of my hand.

This blog site, btw, will be for the sole purpose of my political observations and opinions.

For humour and radio antics, click the above mentioned link.

When I have time at the desktop, I'll be reshaping the right colums of both blogs to reflect the theme and content of each.

Get ready for more firing at will.

Thumbed via Blackberry

Doc and Woody
Weekday Mornings 5:30-9am
CHEZ 106 FM Ottawa

Too Bogged To Blog

I'm getting there. Every so often, as busy as I am with work, charities, campaigns and making my weekly NFL picks, I just get the urge to vent my spleen.

I've moved all of my hardcore political musings to this blog in an effort to keep things separate from my humor blog - although, when criteria crosses over, I'll see fit to cross-post.

Here's to renewal. Here's hopin' I'll get a little more opportunity to throw sumpin' out there!

From The Cupboard To The Cabinet

As I spent the past weekend halfway across the province in what is renowned as the Honeymoon Capital of the world, the series of ironies of ironies were unfolding before me. While Ipsos Reid's' recent survey found favour for Stephen Harper and, at least, a willingness to let him govern, Nik Nanos' SES findings were being collated to reveal what most (namely: MEDIA) were determined to purvey all along: The honeymoon was over before it began.

As the separate circumstances of irony revealed themselves over the weekend, I was (and still am) of little motivation to jump into the fray at every little knee and jerk of a new government's growing pains and a young party's inexperience with the notion of success and the requisite behavioral responsibility it commands. I prefer to let dust settle and approach matters with a more sober contemplative approach. This is not to say that I'm indicisive to fault. Indeed, when matters require immediate resolve, my historic nature of media, deadline and productivity kicks in to ensure my rite of survival. But crying Chicken Little one day in and weeks before the sitting of the 39th parliament is just what I feared, yet expected, from the very support base Stephen Harper enjoyed and employed in his successful ouster of the worst led government in Canada's history. This is not an irony that I'm referring to: It's just a disappointing observation.

A couple of weeks back, a gentleman that I know, who runs a non-partisan (intended yet not realized) breakfast discussion group under the banner of Peace, Order and Good Government, had posed the topic of Harper's appointments of David Emerson and Michael Fortier for discussion. After witnessing not only my fellow media feast on the fresh carcass of this dying quail of public opinion but fellow conservatives screaming at the site of blood, I decided to seriously study the motives, opportunities and precedents before I drew a final conclusion for myself.

Admittedly, my initial reaction was "Whoops. That won't be taken well." yet I couldn't help but be taken with curiosity at the acquisition of someone of Emerson's industrial strength and Fortier's horsepower and influence base in the birthplace of our first policy document and a region where Conservatives need a strategic hold. I wound up presenting my findings and my argument to my friend as I extended my regrets that I would be in Niagara Falls for the Ontario PC Conference and would miss a stimulating debate on this issue. After reading my submission, he asked my permission to circulate this "thoughtful piece" among the group. I reluctantly agreed as this "thoughtful piece" was indeed rife with weaknesses due to time and space restraints. Complex issues require much more discourse than I had given even after a full week of analysis (an irony I take great pleasure in pointing out in the wake of the Great Partisan Jump-Ship from the SS Harper).

As the ironies of my conference weekend presented themselves one by one, I felt the strongest surrealness.

I fought along side my campaign mates to ensure a stronger federal party by electing John Baird, now a haunting pair of size 10's to fill. I found myself elbowing by and sharing a warm exchange with my friend who is now the new President of the Treasury Board, only to share a bittersweet handshake with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty moments later. As Conservatives, it seems, we help our cause by taking from our own cupboard.

"Argument for Stephen Harper's Cabinet appointments of
David Emerson and Michael Fortier.

As the dust settles and the emotions ebb, let's first
look at the issues objectively.

There have been 86 Ministerial appointments from
outside parliament since 1867 - not exactly an
everyday occurance but hardly something new.  It's no
secret that when it comes to assembling a cabinet, the
Prime Minister must do this delicately in providing
for not only loyalty but regional representation and
practical experience.

Alexander MacKenzie appointed William Richard Scott as
a Minister without portfolio in November of 1873 and
to Secretary of State of Canada in early January of
1874 and it wasn't until the spring of that year that
Scott was given a Senate appointment.

As Prime Minister after John Abbott's resignation due
to health problems, John Thompson appointed
Auguste-Real Angers as Minister of Agriculture a week
before giving him a Senate position in December 1892.

Wilfrid Laurier made Oliver Mowat Minister of Justice
and Attorney General before a Senate appointment days
later in 1896.

Joe Clark did the same thing with Industry Trade and
Commerce Minister Robert De Cotret in 1979.

Many cabinet appointees ran in by-elections or general
elections soon after these appointments, some of them
even losing.

Having Senators in cabinet is also not unheard of,
although the majority through our history have been
limited to Government Leader in the Senate.  But
several have been appointed Ministers of State for
various portfolios and some even Ministers without
portfolio.

What remains to be seen from Mr. Fortier, in addition
to his role in providing a voice for Montreal, is
whether he can do the job as Minister of Public Works.
The same, then, can essentially be said for every
other cabinet appointee since this will be their first
term as minister.

David Emerson is only the 240th sitting member to
cross the floor in parliament so we should all be
shocked and stricken with awe at this blindsiding
maneuvre.  As with recent occurances, more criticism
has been thrown at the member who crossed the floor
for opportunism and political wealth than at the Prime
Minister of the day.  Thus, Emerson will have to
reconcile that with his own
constituents come next election.  (A gamble he surely
will have carefully considered - a payoff hopefully
reflected in his accomplishments for the VGA, the
riding of Vancouver-Kingsway and all of BC.)

As for Prime Minister Harper, though the optics of the
move are not favourable (primarily through the
partisan lense), he is neither hypocritical nor out of
bounds by approaching someone of Emerson's calibre and
geographic convenience.  Harper is not only
demonstrating his innate comprehension of
constitutional boundaries and precedent, he's
exercizing their full potential while continuing to
exhibit his obvious proclivity for getting done what
needs to be done.  While his actions suggest a painful
reality that existing MP's were not cabinet material,
his vision far out-distances even his closest of peers
and short-term reward for the mere sake of loyalty can
very dangerously lead to short-term life for any
government.

While such events as have occurred in the past few
weeks indicate the imperfections within our democratic
fabric and our constitution, they also represent the
flexibilities inherently woven since confederation
because our founders possessed the wisdom and the
vision that all things change, all things evolve and
all things are possible in a democracy.  Thus, as with
all discussion regarding democratic and constitutional
reform, we must always ask "what if" in determining
cause and effect of our critical decisions affecting
the future of Canada.

Stephen Harper, through his efforts in setting the
table for Canada's 39th parliament, is no longer
acting as merely the Leader of the Conservative Party
of Canada.  He's performing and executing his official
duties as this country's Prime Minister.  We must
allow him to do that."

NOTE: Originally posted 2/22/2006 on Woody's Blog

Promise Made, Promise Kept!

Over the course of fifty six days and nights, I rarely posted so much as a thought about the federal election. In fact, post-Christmas, I was MIA. I was busy. I was focused. I was on the ground.

I was working for Team Baird under the acute leadership of Campaign Manager Chris Froggatt and Deputy Campaign Manager Cara Salci who had both left Queen's Park to drive John Baird's push to represent the constituents of Ottawa West-Nepean, a 17-year Liberal stronghold.

After suffering a crushing narrow defeat with Sean Casey's campaign in 2004, my wife and I promised ourselves that we'd not only work harder within the riding association but that we'd never again wake up the morning after an election, wondering what more we could have done. Indeed, we gave it our all in '04 and post-mortem analysis could easily provide the Liberal fear, smear and civil servant whisper campaigns as a viable scapegoat, but we all should've been ready for such activity.

That being said, I'm sure there was little we could do to fend off the fear attacks. Paul Martin shrewdly dissolved parliament when his polling was high enough to shut down the Public Accounts investigation into Adscam and catch the Conservative Party flat-footed without a ratified policy document. Indeed, what policy initiatives and platform planks that came about in 2004 were merely soft-core offerings based on our post-merger Agreement in Principle.

Fast-forward to March, 2005. We leave Montreal on the Sunday satisfied that after local and regional hair-pulling policy sessions, the National Convention exhibited tremendous wisdom in putting forth a very workable policy document for all Canadians to examine.

Throughout the summer of 2005, Stephen Harper quietly went about his barbecue tour, travelling from coast to coast, talking and listening to Canadians. The shift, while I'm certain it was beginning, was not reflected in public opinion polls and certainly not played up in the mainstream media. No, indeed, for two reasons. Much of the msm is Liberal biased and history will tell you that governments are almost always lost - not won. We would have to hope for the media to play up existing examples of Liberal scandal and incompetence more or hope for a new bombshell.

Throughout the writ period we received a series of little nuggets of assistance to that end, while Nationally and locally, we ran virtually flawless campaigns. The Conservative Party, just turning two years old, was showing signs of unexpected maturity and discipline. Unexpected from the Liberals, that is. We knew differently, however, and with quiet confidence, we forged ahead. While the National messages dealt with Accountability, Health Care, Taxes, Child Care and Gun Crime, the Baird message addressed those priorities from the local perspective, including the continued fight for the Queensway-Carleton Hospital, violent crime in Ottawa West-Nepean plus issues that concern seniors (an important demographic here).

All of us on the campaign team embarked on a post-holiday full court press down the final stretch, installing signs, working debates, performing lit-drops in 20cm snow storms and canvass blitzes with the candidate. The last lit blitz went right through the final weekend and, despite the devious efforts from our competition through reverse canvassing and sign vandalism and theft, our message was getting through: It's time for a change.

While Mrs. Woody and I served largely in a communications role(she was Media Relations and I handled the website and email lists), we weren't above helping wherever there was a need. It was an attitude shared by every core volunteer on the team. Election day saw each one of us going even stronger, covering off polls, running back to the office to identify voter efficiency at regular intervals and, finally, pushing to get out the remainder of our support.

It was sometime after 10:30, CTV News declared John Baird elected in Ottawa West-Nepean. I wasn't aware at the time. I was still in the back office with several others taking results over the phone from our scrutineers still in the field. We didn't let up until Chris was satisfied the numbers would hold and that victory was secure.

It was a promise made and a promise kept. It was a commitment, not only to ourselves but our mandate as directors of our EDA. It was also our belief in a man that will not only make a difference in our community, but who'll be a positive force in government. And that, my friend, is why we do it.

Congratulations to John Baird, the next Member of Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean.

And heartfelt thanks to every member of Team Baird. If I started listing names, I'd only screw up by missing someone and they're all too important, too valuable and too loved for me to do that.

Still standing......

NOTE: Originally posted 1/26/2006 on Woody's Blog

Patience, Prudence, Posture

Two words on the Liberal gun announcement: Greg Weston

The fact that handguns have been banned since the '30s and that bleeding-heart-liberal legislation protects criminals is all one dare say about it. And even that may be too much. Read Weston.

Meanwhile, two people were gunned down in a Karaoke bar on Somerset a few days ago and a 21 year old Ottawa U student was stabbed in her home last night.

Jennifer Teague's killer is still out there.

What are you still doing here? Read Weston.

NOTE: Originally posted 12/09/2005 on Woody's Blog

Checking Vital Signs, Elections Signs, Dollar $igns

Since my last post it has seemed that not only have the days become shorter but the hours fewer. It's a busy time for the Woodman. Riding AGM's, campaign readiness, charity and promotional work and an increased workload have all eaten into my precious blog-time budget.

With Doc on vacation last week, my responsibilities expanded to include prepping the content of the show in addition to the production elements. Public appearances included fundraisers for The Spirit of Christmas campaign for underprivileged and sheltered families and the induction of Doc and Woody into the Order of The Good Bear at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario for our fundraising successes over the past 5 years.

Being somewhat reluctant to receive the order in the first place, I felt further at ill-ease hearing the stories about the other inductees of the evening. The honour, as I realized, is about being included in such a fine group of caring citizens.

While Doc was away in Cuba, we still managed a photo-op to recognize his accomplishments:

As it is Christmas time, I'm shifting my focus slightly to another pet project of mine to help a good friend address the needs of over 300 families who, without his efforts, might well have no Christmas at all.

Ted Long has been running the Spirit of Christmas campaign for the past 15 years in the west end of Ottawa and has constantly seen the numbers in need rise. This year is no exception. Along with Mike Deslaurier, his partner of 8 years in business, and several others of us committed to the success of it all, Ted has been working feverishly to raise the funds and the toys required to deliver at Christmas. That's why I was thrilled last week when the two received their 2005 Community Builder Awards from the United Way of Ottawa.

(Mike/Ted United Way 2005 Community Builder recipients)

Working out of Sonny's Bar and Grill, 1119 Baxter Road (next to the Ottawa Citizen) we've staged a few successful fundraisers but we're still not there. More is required. To that end, I must also recognize Danni and the crew at Dog and Pony Sound karaoke service for coming to the table with a 1983 Hall of Fame autographed Bobby Hull Chicago Black Hawk jersey. We're auctioning it off this week until closing Sunday at Sonny's. Details at the bar.

Danni's Generous Donation

Extending my days even further is, of course, the election campaign. Since I'm talking about people of quality and good deeds for the moment, I have to say that a proud event came last week when, during Stephen Harper's campaign kickoff at John Baird's headquarters, I met this man:

We need more like Allan Cutler and the others I mentioned. To me, that's how you build a community. That's how you build a country.

NOTE: Originally posted 12/06/2005 on Woody's Blog