Wow me...

My message to all political parties (and all candidates for that matter) is simple.

Wow me.

Over the next 22 days or so, you will be bombarded with announcements, news conferences, door-knocking, advertisements and a boatload of other attempts to try to garner your vote on May 5th.  The parties are going to be ruthless.  They will boast whatever their party stands for while shooting down all of their competition.  You will hear about all sorts of polls, debates and issues that will surely get everyone up in arms.

But what you will be hearing, more than anything else this campaign, is promises.  Here's a couple:
- "We promise to build schools."
- "We promise to cut the fat at AHS."
- "We promise to get our economy back on track."

Perhaps you've heard some of these promises already.  Maybe you haven't but want to hear more.  And right now, I want you to stop.  Think about it.  Really, think about it.

Time and time again, elections are seemingly won by whoever promises the most.  But here's the thing: voters constantly complain about promises unfulfilled AFTER the fact.

Here's what I recommend: if a candidate or party or a leader approaches you and says they will promise something, ask them HOW they plan to do it.  Make them go into detail about it.  Don't accept the cliches.  For example, let's look at the three promises above:

#1. "We promise to build new schools."
This is indeed a noble promise.  It's no secret that the big city schools are bursting at the seams.  So when you hear this promise, ask "how?"  Think about it.  We're supposedly in a tough spot financially, so someone must have a plan on how to get the funding for big projects like this.  Are we going back to our credit card?  Are we looking at P3's again?  And ask them about funding for the ongoing costs of these schools.  It's one thing to build a building.  It's another to put teachers and support staff in it.  What about maintenance?  Have they thought about this beyond the initial ground-breaking ceremony?  Make each of the candidates answer.

#2. "We promise to cut the fat at AHS."
I've blogged about this before.  This might be one of the most worn-out cliches I've heard in the last year or so.  But does anyone really know how much "fat" there is and how much "mission critical" substance there is?  We're so unclear on what the hierarchy at AHS actually looks like.  I'd love to see a flow chart of what the typical hospital in Alberta looks like.  If I was in charge of a political party, I'd show that flow chart to EVERYONE, then show a new chart of what I'd want AHS to become (ie a "lean, mean, health care machine").  Voters should be asking for both charts.  Voters should also be asking how each party plans to deal with each of the unions that represent all of these workers.  Because to enable ANY kind of cuts, you're going to have to get the unions on board.  It's not going to be as easy as some make it out to be.

#3. "We promise to get our economy back on track."
Maybe I'm off my rocker here, but as far as I know, Alberta has two major sources of revenue: taxes and oil.  So when one goes down, the other goes up.  That's what the last budget seemingly showed.  So when oil goes down (as it has), your taxes are going up, because the government needs to fund all the promises it made from before.  We've heard all sorts of promises already about how we're going to get off the roller-coaster of the price of oil.  You're also hearing promises of how "we'll keep taxes low."  Again, ask the question: "how?"  Such as: "how do you plan to keep taxes low while also staying off the oil roller-coaster?"  Or try: "how do you plan to diversify the economy?"  Are we talking trades and technology?  Are we talking wind and solar energy?  Are we talking manufacturing?  And if you're focus is on spending, "what do you plan on cutting?" is a good question to start off.

It's an interesting crossroads for Albertans, with four parties headed up by a new leader (PC, Wildrose, Liberal, NDP) and one party with the same one (Alberta Party), although that one party didn't have an MLA in the legislature when the writ was dropped.  I obviously haven't made up my mind on who I'm voting for.  But it is clear to me that Albertans seem to be willing to weigh their options here, even though they may very-well go back to what's familiar when all's said and done.

What I do hope is that they do their research.  Look past all the glitzy promises and really demand more from all the parties.  They say they are here for a "better Alberta."  But can they actually deliver on that promise?  That's why the question of "how" is so important here.  Because if you don't ask that question, you might be crying "broken promises" again.  Albertans should be looking for a party/candidate that is looking to the future.  How do they plan to fix what's been broken?  How do they plan to build and do things better?  How do they plan to energize and empower the electorate?

Wow me.