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The Green Coup is Guelph led
Well, sort of. Guelph was the place that Sylvie Lemieux, a former Lt. Colonel in the Canadian Forces and accomplished civil engineer, launched her campaign to succeed Elizabeth May as Green Party of Canada leader a few weeks ago.
The setting was the backyard of the home of Bob Bell. Bell, the locally acclaimed candidate for the Green Party in the next federal election, was hosting a barbecue get–together for local Greens. Lemieux made her announcement as the clock winds down on an August 2 vote by party members on constitutional changes that would stymie the requirement for a leadership contest before the end of 2010. This is the fourth year of May’s four–year term as leader of the Green Party of Canada, but with the near constant spectre of a federal election, May has been advocating that now’s not the time for a potentially divisive leadership contest.
“There are several people who will run for leadership when there is a leadership race and by far the numbers of people who want to run for leadership don’t want to have a leadership race before the next election,” May told the Globe and Mail. “They don’t think it will be in the best interests of the party.”
Lemieux obviously disagrees. “This is not about running against Elizabeth May,” Lemieux told the Globe. “This is about creating a better option for Canadians by building the party into a true contender that’s more attuned to Canadians from coast to coast.”
At Saturday’s barbecue, Bell, our local man in Green, was noncommittal, but believed that the party needed to look at their leadership situation head on. “Elizabeth has been the leader for four years, so it’s time to ask the question, and Sylvie is doing so,” Bell said. “There’s been this possible impending election for a year and a half and I believe that’s why our leadership issue has been pushed back.”
Still, it’s interesting that Lemieux would choose Guelph to make her declaration of interest in heading the Green Party. Our little berg has long been considered a possible “breakthrough” riding for the party, and in the past two elections (the 2007 Provincial and the 2008 Federal) the Green candidate finished third. As for that elusive next Federal election, Lemieux says don’t worry, because Prime Minister Stephen Harper “has no incentive to get into an election before [2011].”
Real 2010 Election News
So it appears that my prediction that things on the municipal ballot would be relatively quiet through to the end of summer was a wee bit off, with several new additions to the slate of candidates in the last couple of weeks. First, veteran councillor Gloria Kovach became the name on the first hat thrown into the ring for Ward 4 when she announced on July 15. That same day, Peter Bortolon joined the growing race for Ward 1 and was joined 24 hours later by Gary Walton. This brings the total of candidates running in the Ward 1 race up to seven. Prior to that, on July 8 Leanne Piper joined her fellow Ward 5 incumbent Lise Burcher on the ballot by officially declaring her nomination. So far, Piper and Burcher are the only candidates in Ward 5. For the full election ballot thus far, go to guelph.ca/vote.
Movie Night in Goldie Mill Park
If you’re looking for something to do tonight (Thursday night) and you’re in a fight–the–power kind of mood, head over to Goldie Mill Park for a screening of the documentary Lucio. It’s about noted Spanish anarchist Lucio Urtubia, a man who’s quite literally a modern Robin Hood. The film will start around 8:30 pm and admission is by donation. Funds are being raised for local protesters still detained by the police following arrests made during the G20 in Toronto.
guelphpolitico.blogspot.com
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