Take a Bow

Everyone paying even a speck of attention to Alberta politics will know the Alberta Liberals are in trouble.
After losing (big time) an election that was theirs to win, they’ve nearly sunk into depression.
Groups are springing up all over the place to rework the broken democracy that is Alberta. David Swann is in Better Alberta’s corner while the New Liberals youth are very obvious supporters of Dave Taylor (newly declared candidate for ALP leadership). It seems both groups aim to implement their agendas at the ALP convention in October. It might be an ugly floor fight but it also might spur people on to sign up members which can never hurt a party.
With at least two sides setting up to square off, add to the mix the leadership race. In the bid for leader, Better Alberta and New Liberals will have the chance to not only change the party but install a leader to implement their ideas fully.

And of course yesterday was a leadership day.

Whoever Dave Taylor’s media person was did a great job... Of keeping everything so quiet that barely anyone knew something was happening. Excuses that the media haven’t been all that interested in the Liberals since the election don’t wash. What media doesn’t love a gossipy story about possible implosion? Federal Liberal leadership anyone? Secrecy has no place when you want to make a big splash and get the word out about something. You push and you push hard in as many places as you can to get as much coverage as you can.
An example of someone in the ALP who knows how to use the media to their advantage is Mo Elsalhy. Without officially announcing (unlike Taylor), Elsalhy has eclipsed Taylor in coverage. In the Edmonton Journal today Taylor has 5cms of print compared to Elsalhy with 12cms. That’s almost triple the amount! Strategically this is brilliant. Elsalhy strips Taylor of his first-out-of-the-gate glory and solo media coverage and gets his name in all of the stories. Earned media is awesome media and Elsalhy and his team definitely know how to earn. Hopefully Taylor’s team can follow this example.
Elsalhy even has a website that’s more informative, albeit far less attractive, than Taylor (please put something up that’s more than just a quote from the candidate: people are going to go here to find stuff out about Taylor not just to join his facebook group).

Taylor may be considered the front runner but he got left in the dust on this one.