Back at campaign headquarters we found the police tape and cars were gone. The media had left too. It was like nothing had happened. Inside, Dot was on the phone and unable to offer her usual smoky hug. I waved and went to the meeting room where the entire senior campaign team waited.
In addition to Kathleen, we had another new face in the group. Clive, the national campaign’s security director, sat across from the open doorway in the corner with his back to the wall. While the group waited for me I asked Frank if he wanted a coffee.
“Sure. Four sugars and two creams please,” he replied.
As a black coffee drinker, his response made me shudder.
“Mr. Candidate,” said Al while staring at Frank, “how was the canvas?”
“Great. We had good feedback on Albro Lake Road and found lots of people home on Victoria. Frank was very helpful. His notes are meticulous and he is learning the layout of the riding very quickly,” I responded.
Kathleen scanned him from top to toe like she was an interstellar explorer and he was an alien life form.
“Any signs?” asked Todd.
“Yes.”
I gestured to Frank to include him in the conversation.
“We have requests for six two by twos and three, four by fours. Seven of the signs are on Albro Lake Road and two are on Victoria. Do you want the civic numbers?” he said as he slurped his sweet coffee.
“No,” said Al with a raised eyebrow.
“Well done, and that was before the terrorist attack,” replied Todd standing in the dark eclipse behind Al.
“Okay, let’s get this meeting going. We don’t want you here longer than needed,” said Al.
The meeting began with introductions. Everyone, even Al, was very cordial to the outsiders. Kathleen, to her credit, was not the bossy bitch I thought she would be. She did not try to take over the meeting. Clive spoke little. He was in typical paranoid professional security guy mode. He wore a tight suit over his well-toned physique with a noticeable bulge under his left arm. It was not that long ago when Canadian Prime Ministers did not worry about security let alone some novice candidate running for a seat in Atlantic Canada. Times were changing.
After the introductions, each of the coordinators gave an update. We heard from finance, canvassing, promotions, and signs. Al led election day readiness and volunteer management so he briefed the group on plans for our final push to the polls. After the committee reports, Al asked Kathleen for comments.
“Wow, It seems like this team has everything working well! Let me begin by saying I am not here to take over this campaign,” she said unconvincingly.
“Obviously, you are a capable group. You also have a great candidate who has been getting a great deal of media attention. Even more than the Prime Minster! While this is not a traditionally strong area of Conservative support, we are running against a low-profile sitting member who has mediocre name recognition. For these reasons, we believe we can flip this riding. It is one of several seats we believe we can win. I am here for one reason and one reason alone: to help you elect your guy to the House of Commons, which will, in turn, help us form government,” she said in a rare show of passion.
She had our attention. We were all on the edges of seats, with the exception of Al who had learned his lesson not to stress the furniture. She continued.
“This team is on the right track. I am here to help you and I will be here every day for the rest of the campaign. Together, we will do more!” she said with great enthusiasm.
After her theatrical monologue, the mood changed. Even Al lightened up. Kathleen’s positivity was contagious.
Kathleen gave an update on the national campaign. The Liberal Cabinet Minister’s scandal continued to trend highly on social media. With the Liberals in damage control, our platform got little push back. The NDP helped us beat up on the Liberals thinking that they had a shot at winning. The Green Party was the only party that promoted their agenda more than they attacked the government. However, few voters listened.
Political fortunes changed like the tides and this week was a great example. The Liberals slid ten points in the polls. The Conservatives benefited from this drop. We were up nine points. The Greens were up one point and the NDP were unchanged. Once again, we witnessed Canadians put their trust in only two national parties: Liberals and the Conservatives. The NDP may have successfully staked out the moral high ground, but Canadians seemed keen to get their hands on more beer and peanuts.
As for the Greens, with all the sensational weather news, a voter would have to be extremely ignorant, or a Republican President of the United States, not to be worried about the environment. While most Canadians agree we need to practice better stewardship of the planet, the Green agenda was too much of a stretch for most people to comprehend. While the Greens were only one large environmental disaster away from being on every voter’s mind, the party had trouble with traction.
I am sure if democracy was practiced by the early inhabitants of Easter Island its residents would have had a Green Party. Its messages may have been clear, concise and well circulated to Easter Island dwellers but few people would have listened to the doom and gloom. Residents would say, ‘What’s a couple of trees in the face of progress? Besides, what could possibly go wrong?’
My attention was pulled back to Kathleen’s briefing. With the Liberal Government on the ropes, the Conservative National Campaign smelled blood. Money flooded into the Conservative Party from all over the country mostly small pledges from ordinary citizens. Kathleen told us it was time to turn up the heat.
To do this, she outlined a two-pronged approach. First, we would continue to spread the good news of our proposed policy changes: individual tax relief, improved child care options, and improved public infrastructure. With our message out, we would soften Canadians traditional view of the party as socially conservative and fiscally tight. Canadians would see the compassionate side of Conservatives and not let the Liberals and New Democrats define us as a party that cuts government services and rolls back the clock on the rights of women and minorities.
The second tactic was more a traditional Tory party approach. The National Campaign would attack the Liberals negatively on community crime. Recent public opinion polls placed community crime as the number one issue in Canada. Canadians were more worried about rising gun violence than climate change.
In the past couple of years there has been a significant increase in media reports of gang style crime and gun play and this left Canadian’s feeling unsafe. Crime rates maybe down but people’s perception was different. The national campaign team had decided to fan this fire and blame the Liberals for it.
Kathleen explained this would not be an American style, fear breeding, campaign complete with stark television ads. Canadians were much too wise to fall for such blatant fake news.
Instead, the Conservative Party’s negative media campaign would be community based. Certain communities would be hit hard and often. We would use precision strikes of targeted literature, high gloss cards with bold graphics and plain language. Each card would be custom designed for the neighbourhood and delivered to each household twice: at the half way point and again three days before polling day.
Phone messages, recorded by candidates, would be sent to every house. These messages would highlight the issues of the particular community. Kathleen called this targeted marketing ‘hyper local’.
“So,” interrupted Al, “the fact that Dartmouth-Cole Harbour is one of the targeted communities makes me happy, but I am not sure this hyper-local campaign will be successful. It is too negative. People in this area may be cranky but they don’t take well to nasty political ads,” he countered.
“We have no intention to be nasty. We intend to point out the short comings of the current government and its MP. We will also tell residents what is wrong with the NDP candidate. Our national media specialists will work with you to get the most effective message,” replied Kathleen.
That said, Kathleen called the meeting closed as we had to prepare for the press conference about the anthrax attack. Al told me he didn’t want me at the press conference. It would be better if I was back to work knocking on doors. This was a good thing. I was steaming mad at this hyper local bullshit. It was nothing but a localized attack campaign full of false claims and personal attacks on the other candidates. I didn’t want any part of it.
Before I could leave, Clive said he needed to talk to me about security issues. I told him it would have to wait. I found Frank and headed for the door. Clive hustled after us and said he would join us. We could talk along the way. I turned abruptly to him and he stopped in his tracks. He didn’t argue when I firmly told him I was okay.
I left the building with Frank in tow. Clive stared at me. His steely gaze was either admiration for my brave attitude, or a petty glare that suggested he wanted me to be assaulted because I ignored his advice.
Troy Myers 