Kinsley Suddenly The Man To Beat

Friday, October 22, 2010 03:46 AM

Suddenly, the person with the inside track on the nomination to be the Conservative candidate for the riding of Prince George- Peace River is former Mayor, Colin Kinsley.

While Kinsley is the latest person to toss his hat into the ring, he is, without a doubt, a front runner coming out of the gate.

There are three candidates from Ft St John, Bob Zimmer, Dan Davies, and Don Erwin.

Also in the running is Jerilyn Schembri, of Tumbler Ridge who is well spoken, but in a tough area to garner support.

Closing out the pack is freshman Prince George City Councillor Cameron Stolz, who is up against a heavy weight while he wears junior fighter’s gloves.

The three candidates from Ft St John , all have some party experience , but being educators will not garner them any major support in an area where the people like a no nonsense, straight off the cuff member.

Kinsley can deliver on that ground.

What it will now take is an effort to sell enough memberships to enable Kinsley to take the nomination in the first ballot , if he fails to get those numbers in the first vote, you could see the Ft St John pack joining together to try and establish an "anybody but Kinsley vote" north of the Pine Pass.

How the memberships go will be pivotal in this one, the election is just a formality because in this riding, the nomination process is how the next MP will be decided.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

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Posted on Friday, October 22, 2010 03:46 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: gus on October 22 2010 7:10 AM

It is not only the number of memberships, but the number of them that will take the time to vote and, with that, the number who will vote for the candidate who sold them the membership.

Does anyone have any idea what the process entails in the Conservative Party?

1. how many are currently members?
2. on which side of the Rockies do they reside?
3. is there a period they have to be members before they can vote?
4. how does the vote take place?

Finally, what are the key issues from the North versus the South of the riding? How many federal dollars was Hill able to get to the northern versus the southern part of the riding? Was that an issue? Will it be an issue?

Posted by: pggo56 on October 22 2010 7:46 AM

Prince George is a big voting base and if the the party's running can get the vote out then its anyones game lot will depend on the economic plan they support and how they address the issues in the region.

Posted by: faxman on October 22 2010 8:37 AM

Kinsley has my vote.

Posted by: seamutt on October 22 2010 9:03 AM

Kinsley for PM, early April fools.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on October 22 2010 10:55 AM

If the pipeline and the MP things don't work out for Kinsley perhaps he could consider running for P.G. mayor again! Never thought I would say that in a million years, but here we are, up the creek in a boat with a hole in the bottom and no paddles.

Posted by: mythoughts on October 22 2010 11:36 AM

so how do I get a Conservative Party membership because Kinsley has my vote too.

Posted by: gus on October 22 2010 11:41 AM

Call Colin. He'll sell you one and call you on nomination election day.

Posted by: Palopu on October 22 2010 12:07 PM

Aside from having a Conservative Party membership, you also have to reside in the riding. Ie; North of the Nechako River. Pr George Peace River is a big riding. Anyone on the South side of the Nechako can forget about any nomination process. Colin of course lives in the North Nechako, and has for some time.

Jay Hill lives in Ft St John, and was a good representative for the Peace River. Hopefully they can get another Representative. They last thing they need is a representative from Prince George.

Posted by: mythoughts on October 22 2010 12:30 PM

The last thing we need in PG is a representative from Ft. St. John. Go Colin, go!!!

Posted by: Palopu on October 22 2010 2:05 PM

mythoughts. You already have a representative MP from Prince George by the name of Dick Harris. How many representatives do you need. There is more to BC and Canada, than this little town. Wake up and smell the roses.

Posted by: gus on October 22 2010 3:45 PM

Harris' riding goes to south of Williams Lake. Another large but not quite as diverse as the northern riding.

We could get someone to run from Quesnel or Williams Lake ... nay .. even Hixon ... LOL...

It really does not matter. They do squat anyway. At lease Oberle had a portfolio and a say in cabinet.

I agree, though. The Peace is a different mindset than PG. I would be pissed if I lived in the Peace and some person from PG would represent me.

Posted by: mythoughts on October 22 2010 5:26 PM

I don't live in Dick Harris' riding so he doesn't represent me. I live in Colin Kinsley's soon to be riding ;-)

Posted by: joeboy on October 22 2010 9:16 PM

Right on Palopu. Too many people in our little town entertain delusions that PG somehow matters. Can't see the riding represented by someone from outside the Peace area. Nice spin though; must be a slow news day.

Posted by: metalman on October 22 2010 9:46 PM

www.conservative.ca
to purchase a membership which will allow you to nominate the candidate of your choice for Prince George North.
metalman.

Posted by: LoveTheNorth on October 22 2010 10:14 PM

I would vote for Colin.

He has the background, political network, and his heart has always been in doing what is best for the area.

Sure, people complained about him - but that is the nature of politics. The real heros get into the ring and do not sit in the stands.

Posted by: supertech on October 22 2010 10:38 PM

...... his heart has always been in doing what is best for the area.

You mean like helping Campbell sell BC Rail?

Posted by: supertech on October 22 2010 10:40 PM

I suspect Enbridge is a large contributor to Colins' political funds.

Posted by: Eagleone on October 23 2010 12:48 AM

Colin supported the sale of BC Rail that almost killed many of the small towns in this riding when CN played hard ball. Colin's decision was simply the worst decision ever made for this riding... and he is now going to be its savior?

Lets all remember that Colin is a paid agent of Petro China via the Gateway Pipeline via Enbridge. Petro China is the one that foot the bill for all the regulatory hurdles of the Gateway Pipeline to be managed by Enbridge.

Therefore Colin is indirectly on the payroll of communist Petro China representing their interests to our government, while running in the nomination process on there dollars to represent us to our government as a conservative....

Colin in my estimation is simply a monopoly capitalists running for a neocon policy of globalization for the elites at the expense of a free enterprise economy that represents equality of opportunity and sustainability. I'd hardly call Colin a conservative.

Posted by: bitter on October 23 2010 9:36 AM

IF I was Cameron I would drop out of the race, why waste your money Colin is a done deal , Colin should give younger people a chance.

Posted by: gus on October 23 2010 12:54 PM

"his heart has always been in doing what is best for the area"

No doubt. Also no doubt that every politician would feel that way. How many do you know who went into it to do what is the worst for the area?

The question is whether any of one of those people running will stand out in your mind for what YOU think is best for the area and which one is most likely going to try to find that out after he or she has gained the seat.

Then comes the question, who will be best to actually DELIVER on that. Intentions are all good and well, but in the final analysis capacity to deliver becomes important; the ability to convince others who carry more claut in parliament that your position on an issue is the better one and the ability to do that from a junior position.

Finally, whether people like it or not there is always a learning curve when joining a new organization. While someone with substantial governance experience will typically be able to learn more quickly than a more junior person, the fact is that there is a learning curve. The second and third terms in office should, with quality people, lift them to more senior positions in Parliament. So, the other attribute I would be looking at is who has that staying power so that we do not have to send new people in all the time if the incumbent is doing a good job of reperesenting the constituency.

Posted by: Dragonmaster on October 23 2010 1:49 PM

Just what we need. An ex politician with a red nose running for federal office.

Posted by: gimmeabreak on October 24 2010 1:53 PM

Eagleone....."monopoly capitalist running for a neocon policy of globalization for the elites" who wrote that for you ..Karl Marx...jeez a flaming socialist.

Dragonmaster...you are an idiot if that is the only comment that your feeble mind can conjure up

Posted by: gus on October 24 2010 3:28 PM

This is not an award. People are given awards because they deserve it, hopefully.

This is a job. It is a job that covers many different interests and issues. Far more than being mayor of a city does. Far more than being a city councillor does. The dynamics of the position are quite different.

Here is a question I have:

Do you vote for a representative of the party, or for someone who will do the best to make the party do what they want based on what their constituents tell them whether or not that is official party policy?

In other words do you believe in being a traditional conservative who would like to take party politics closer to the people rather than closer to the political bureaucracy?

Posted by: gus on October 24 2010 3:45 PM

BTW, I think if we were looking to award someone like Colin a position based on past good deeds he did for this community, the way that is done is through such recognition as an Order of Canada or a Senate seat.

Posted by: acrider54 on October 24 2010 5:36 PM

Sure is raining! Retire already Kinsley.