January
8, 2005 |
Conservative
Leadership Foundation
Mini Conference - "Lessons Learned" |
|
|
Moderator |
Comments from CLF Mini-Conference Attendees |
John
Capobianco |
Knew
what he was talking about, and was able to hold every ones attention. |
|
Was a strong and funny
speaker |
|
Knowledgeable,
well organized and a good speaker |
|
Excellent moderator
who kept a firm handle on things and kept things moving along. |
|
Who
doesn't love Cappy? |
|
| Moderator |
|
| Blair
McCreadie |
Blair
is an effective communicator, easily able to convey the message at hand.
It's great to see the President of the Party actively involved in sessions
like this. |
|
He
had done a good job to moderate, and time management |
|
Excellent. That is
why he is President of the PC Party. |
|
| 2003
Municipal Election Review |
Mike
Beauchesne |
The
material he brought was very useful, and worked very well with his presentation. |
|
Gave me some good ideas |
|
Well
prepared and enthusiastic |
|
Very organized, easy
to follow, I liked the handouts to follow along with. |
|
Excellent
comments on the municipal election process. Very good information on how
to make your literature stretch as far as it can and beat your opponent. |
|
Excellent
speaker, I enjoyed the fact that he has samples of advertising tactics that
worked well in the municipal election. |
|
|
| Vic
Gupta |
I liked the different
perspectives on the municipal campaign |
|
A more practical overview
of election strategy. |
|
Very
good, brought up stuff I had not considered before. |
|
Very good stories.
Quite educational about what really went down at the election. |
|
He
gave a great analysis on Tory's defeat in mayoral race, and the important
of campaigning to all wards. |
|
| John
Matheson |
Very interesting, as
always |
|
He seems like a lot
of fun. Very interesting |
|
Intelligent
and responded to questions well |
|
The
information John provided was very insightful & full of applicable ideas. |
|
| John
Mykytyshyn |
What would CLF be without
him? |
|
I
liked your comments on Barrie - they were on topic and non-rambling as well
as entertaining. |
|
Gave some very good
insights into a municipal election. I never knew that there was so much
involved in a municipal election. |
|
A different perspective
from the others which was good, and an interesting story. |
|
Did very well at explaining
how the election process works municipally in many different cities and
I enjoyed his war room strategy and how he won that election through research.
Very informative about how important research is. |
|
Great stuff. It proves
how effective research and development can have a big impact in politics.
Great stuff John. |
|
John is the guiding
light on this worthy effort. As I mentioned to him, the quantity and selection
of presenters was most noteworthy.As indicated by him in his closing remarks,
this might turn into a very valuable tool for the party given sufficient
human resources and funding. |
|
He
gave a very good example on winning a municipal election, and beating the
odds, and winning against a difficult opponent. |
|
|
|
| 2003
Provincial Election Review |
| Louise
Harris |
Insightful and funny |
|
Louise knows her stuff,
there's no two ways about it. Very helpful GOTV info. |
|
Very
informative about how the provincial campaign went |
|
Louise's
presentation was very strong and well put together. She offered a great
many insights and I look forward to learning more from her. (She's very
charismatic!) |
|
Louise's contribution
to the panel helped balance the panel, since by comparison her involvement
politically is of a different scale then that of Brian or Kellie. I especially
found her illustration of the diamond view of the campaign continuum first
mentioned by Kellie Leitch to be quite interesting. |
|
A
lot of wisdom |
|
| Brian
Patterson |
Discussed the difference
between winning and losing. Clearly prepared. Always entertaining. |
|
Mixes humour with observation
in a unique and entertaining presentation |
|
Excellent
job on involving the entire panel and emphasizing his points. |
|
A
wealth of knowledge there - too bad he couldn't talk longer |
|
Funniest
man in the PC Party. I tell you we need more of him. |
|
Brian was a both a
knowledgeable and insightful leader to hear from. His presentation was well
informed and full of vigor, which makes learning from him particularly enjoyable! |
|
As always, Brian is
able to effectively deliver important messages in-between humour. As a result,
key points made tend to be easily remembered by the listener. |
|
| Brett
Bell |
Broad
background allows him to speak authoritatively on several subjects, a well-rounded
presenter. |
|
Brett had a good perspective,
and was not afraid to say what went wrong with his campaign. |
|
Great presenter; good
content |
|
Very
good explaination that sometimes you just cant win. |
|
Presented
a good example on how to build up the profile for the election, and the
importance of a candidate's profile. |
|
Provided honest commentary
on his experiences. Gave specific advice. |
|
| Dr.
Kellie Leitch |
Very good overview
of her two campaigns, and talked effectively about GOTV. |
|
Showed
strong interest; provide specifics on how to correct what went wrong |
|
A very interesting
presentation about the makeup of two different ridings told with a variety
of anecdotes and insight. |
|
Brilliant
person. Lots of insight into how the election went and how to win. |
|
Kellie
is well informed and very well spoken. She is a magnetic leader and I really
learned a lot from her presentation. I look forward too seeing her future
endeavors and to learning more from her. |
|
I
always find myself listening intently to everything Kellie Leitch has to
say. Her impressive background both politically and medically really make
her a valuable panelist. I find myself taking away a great deal from what
she has to say - this time was no different. Her experience from two losing
campaigns in the 2003 election served to validate much of what many of us
felt on our own campaigns where we too lost members. |
|
On
the contrary, she presented a great example that profile does not necessarily
translate to votes |
|
| Matthew
John |
Brought
material he did and gave practical examples of things he should have done
better and/or should have known. |
|
His
youth is something that many can relate to. He brings a perspective different
from the older guests. |
|
As usual, I learned
a lot from this, I didn't know how much really went into election campaigns,
in my riding, the campaigns I've worked on haven't had that much success. |
|
Matthew's
contribution to the panel helped balance the panel, since by comparison
his involvement politically is of a different scale then that of Brian or
Kellie. As one of the Party's Youth VP's, it was great to hear of the involvement
of youth in the last campaign. |
|
Gave
a very important point not to underestimate the opponent, and gave us a
good advise to work hard regardless the opponent. |
|
| |
|
| Keynote |
| John Tory |
As
always, John Tory delivered an awesome speech. |
|
He
said the right things, and he addressed my concern of bringing the party
back together very effectively. |
|
Always able to inspire
a crowd |
|
Excellent
speaker, answered questions honestly and seemed determined |
|
Every
time I see him he engages the crowd very well |
|
What can I say? Delivered
perfectly beautiful as always :D Mcguinty's going DOWN :D |
|
As
always I was riveted by John Tory! He is a dynamic, forthright speaker with
an intense vision! He is able to infuse the audience with a sense of direction
both personally and communally. His awareness of the political temperature
of our time is astute and makes me proud to be a member of the conservative
party! |
|
| |
|
| South
of the Border |
| Katie Robinette |
It
was really neat to hear how the Republicans operate, I definitely could
have used more of this session. |
|
I
am extremely interested in the American campaign process and this explained
a lot. |
|
The last 72/48 swat
teams is great idea - if we can get party members to act on the last-minute
tactical collective interest. |
|
Interesting to hear
about the American election! |
|
It
was refreshing to see how campaigns are run outside Canada. |
|
|
|
| 2004
Federal Election Review |
| Patrick Brown |
Good
stuff, he has so much recent history in politics. |
|
Interesting plus a
role model for youth who wish to run |
|
Took
guts to get up and re-live an election loss |
|
Good
information, very informative |
|
Handouts
and explanations of the differences between his campaign and his opponent
was most enlightening. |
|
Patrick
gave a good presentation on the demographics of Barrie and the way he ran
his election there as opposed to what the central campaign ran. |
|
The
more of the nitty-gritty of your campaign you talk about, the more the audience
will learn. |
|
| Peter
Van Loan, MP |
Great to have an MP
there. |
|
A
good discussion of what it takes to win a rural riding. |
|
Change
for the better. It's a good start, but we need to progress to achieve what
Peter accomplished. All the information he talked about is absolutely necessary
for us to win. I wish i had only learned sooner. |
|
Very relevant |
|
Made some excellent
points with regards to campaigning, points that can be used in future elections. |
|
Peter was very well
spoken about the challenges of fighting a central campaign and on the necessity
of starting a campaign early. |
|
A very practical
and helpful person with really relevant information and suggestions |
|
What's important at
events like the CLF is to pick up two or three things from each speaker
that you didn't know before. PVL had some good observations on his local
campaign, particularly his shock-and-awe strategy and his smoke-and-mirrors
tricks to win the nomination. |
|
Peter
has a tremendous amount of experience and he's good at sharing what he's
learned. |
|
| Brett
Bell |
Gave
us the importance on the effect of negative campaign |
|
Brett gave
a good presentation here. |
|
| Mark
Spiro |
Excellent.
Practical. |
|
Frank
and to the point... we need to keep him coming back |
|
A brilliant mind, everything
he says can be applied on the trail. |
|
Served
as comic relief while still presenting an insightful message |
|
Factual, humorous,
knowledgeable. |
|
Provided personal commentary
on the election. Spoke in DETAIL about the riding he was working in. He
also described things that went well, things that went wrong. He provided
practical campaign advice that people could relate to. |
|
Entertaining
and interesting. I could have listened to him much longer that he had to speak. |
|
I
now know why people speak so highly of Spiro, the man has much more insight
into running campaigns than most other political operatives. Definitely
have him back. |
|
Told
us how he really felt and the reality of things. |
|
|
| Susan
McArthur |
Really
impressed - never heard her speak before and I really liked her approach
and her business mind-set |
|
I really enjoyed what
susan had to say. She presented her ideas in a forthright and precise manner,
and she was very amiable throughout her presentation and during the question
period. I think that she is a great leader! |
|
Articulate, good leadership |
|
Risk
taking : flexible : Ready to change as situation changes: "nimble
on our feet" at times of unexpected challenge i.e. the last week of
the election: insightful ! |
|
Good
to have the Ontario co-chair present. She did a good post-election analysis. |
|
Really
enjoyed Susan's speech. It's important to have intelligent women speak at
these things, and she is a real firecracker. She should mentor up-and-coming
girls in the youth. |
|
Susan
is great. She was a great co-chair and she will continue to be a great
leader in the party. We're lucky to have her. She's a good speaker and
story-teller - we can all learn from her stories. |
| Nomination
Meetings: How to Win! |
| Peter
Van Loan, MP |
Good
anecdotes about dealing with the Party and the strategy he followed to win
where he should not necessarily have won. |
|
Great
to give tips on winning a nomination meeting |
|
It is almost like learning
from the master himself! |
|
| Kim
Groenendyk |
Kim
is one of the best people in politics. I saw that first hand in the John
Tory campaign. Great person. Provided critical information we need to
learn for future reference. |
|
Kim
was very direct with her ideas and insights about nominations. I think that
what she said was always right on the money! She's very sharp! |
|
Gave
a great explanation on how to win a nomination meeting |
|
Knowledgeable and insightful. |
|
Kim was very personable
and was able to tell her vast quantity of information with a few good stories. |
|
| John
Mykytyshyn |
Interesting
anecdotes about winning a nomination. |
|
It
was very well done, it gave me some good tips that I will use when I seek
nomination in a few years. |
|
Knowledgeable/personal
anecdotes really add allot to the day |
|
John's
comments about how to win nominations were clearly very informed and well
thought out. I learned a great deal from John's experiences. He is clearly
a veteran in the political arena and very capable of leading as well as
teaching others to do so. I also liked that John not only offers insights
from his political experience, but also from a real "gut sense". |
|
Well
explained on how to win a nomination meeting |
|
John was also able
to give a lot of insightful points about how to deal with Nomination meetings
that I found quite useful. |
|
Had some great points |
| |
|
|
