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BlogOctober 18, 2007, 9:00am I must say to the electorate; our family, friends, neighbours, associates and the voter public in general, a heartfelt thank you. Gwen and I are proud and humbled. We will serve you well.
As the decision time comes to the final 3 days for who becomes elected to Mayor and Council positions for the next 3 years, I simply continue to remember the tremendous support of volunteers, donors, sponsors and supporters. This support has come in the form of hundreds of lawn sign supporters, phone calls, text messages, facebook friends, faxes, emails and letters. I am taken aback by the fact that a team of 300 people have joined up to help me with this campaign. I am truly amazed by the numbers on the team; almost overwhelming to coordinate it all – that job was lead by group of supporters who are immensely important to me, including my wife and children. As the forums drew to a close tonight, I reflected on the confidence that the community has placed in me so far and if elected, I will not let anyone down. My obligation will continue to be to serve the community as I have for decades in various ways. I look forward to Monday evening at 8:00 pm when we will begin to see the results of the vote roll in.
A time to reflect on the tremendous support of volunteers, donors, sponsors. When one drives through the city and sees hundreds of lawn signs in neighbourhoods, first the individual endorsement is appreciated and the work that Gwen and Peter did to have them all delivered has been outstanding. Forum # 1 was a real challenge for the Councillors as they were double booked. The Mayors had it easy with a one-stop evening. Again, volunteers had a good layout of materials and professionalism. A major thanks to Chuck for helping get the brochures complete and to Peter for organizing the major delivery campaign. The sign crew was awesome, and while there are still 2 more weeks of ongoing vandal and weather challenges, I could not ask for more from loyal friends. I have 61 more scheduled events and meetings in the next 15 days before the election; what great fun meeting everyone. A good friend of mine had a private one- hour lunch scheduled with Premier Stelmach in the Premier’s office on September 28, and he asked me to join them, so that was a good opportunity to discuss the sustainability funding, regional cooperation and the West Regional Road (Ray Gibbon Drive) funding, all of which, we covered in this meeting. A good opportunity to hear first hand Mr. Stelmach’s thoughts and of course an opportunity for me to share mine
I am pleased to share
that I have completed 100% of the door knocking the first time - 18,842
doors. The learnings are
important for me as I have gained a full appreciation for the City and
its beauty, the people and the issues. Nomination
day went well – filled in the correct forms – something that it is
rumored one candidate made an error on……….now that would be problematic! Sign crew was awesome
– all signs and billboards were complete in the early afternoon.
Hundreds of personal lawn signs in neighbourhoods are also
important as the personal support of the campaign is expressed by
friends, neighbours, relatives and strangers.
I am humbled by it all. At 30
days before election date – I had 120 events, meetings etc., to attend –
I love meeting people so this is totally comfortable for me.
Now, to remember names ……………….. I have decided if I forget
someone’s name that I am going to ask.
I find it embarrassing but important, and luckily I am not alone
in suffering from name amnesia.
Election day is 40 days away and what a great summer it has been as I get closer to 18,000 doors. Walking Grandin has been special in many ways. The homes’ walkways often interconnect houses, individual lawn ownership or yard ownership is not as distinct as they blend into each other in some areas. Huge driveways adjacent to each other and at times shared with neighbours makes it a social interconnection as a total neighbourhood. Grandin, with its trees is a park unto itself. The blending of neighbours with each other occurs over many years of living in one area, and from the forever remaking fences, walkways and driveways. Again, nice yards, trees, lawns and flowers blanket this city and the friendliness is heartwarming. Frustration occurs however, as I was scolded by one woman for knocking too loud and another for knocking during the Eskimos-Calgary football game – upset in particular because the doorbell rang just as Calgary took the lead in the game. Timing was poor. After knocking on one door, the only thing we spoke of was the cat in her arms and she put her hand out to shake mine and said “I’m impressed with your platform and am going to vote for you”………….hmmmm Twice today I was asked if I was running for Mayor in St Albert or Edmonton…………hmmmm I will be done door knocking the entire city by nomination day on September 17 and may then go back through some areas a second time; depending on the time availability for that to be done.
Election day is 50 days away and what a great summer for weather and walking the City of St. Albert for the better part of it. Learning the issues that concern various areas within St. Albert has been very valuable as I have now been at over 16,000 doors. Great door mat “Hi, I’m Mat” Spoke with someone who knew one of my grandmothers. My grandmother died in the 40’s so that was interesting to me. I track who answers the door by gender. Yesterday identical twin 18 year old girls answered the door together……….how do I count that? August 5 , 2007, 11:00pm Recent door bell ringing in Akinsdale has assisted me in understanding the challenges associated with sidewalks, dead treed areas and the Anthony Henday impact. Election day is 10 weeks away and one must say that “it gets late early”. 11,000 door bells have been rung, with about 40% of residents home and 9,000 residences yet to be visited. While many stories emerge, I must say that I had a very in-depth discussion with a middle-aged woman who was blind since birth. Her assessment of St. Albert issues were unique; not having had years of direct newspaper influence that most have had. Her understanding and perspective was as thorough as anyone I have spoken with. Finally, when I told a woman that “her polling station was Servus Place” she replied “the new one built up by Wal-mart?”. I replied “no, in Campbell Park” and her reply made me smile; “Oh……. they built one over there too?” Nice yards, trees, lawns, flowers and friendly people wherever I go.
Recent door bell ringing in Braeside and Forest Lawn has been important as meeting more seniors in these neighborhoods and seeing some of the infrastructure challenges first hand assists me in understanding issues related to the mature/older areas of St. Albert. Some fabulous treed areas in thee areas reinforces to me one of the many reasons why this city is noted for its greenery. Election day is less than 80 days and people are now discussing fall sports, school and how nice the summer has been. 10,000 door bells have been rung, about 40% of folks are home and 10,000 to go. Nice yards, trees, lawns, flowers and friendly people wherever I go.
Fun doing all this door knocking as I can now have extra ice cream to replenish my calories and thirst. Recent door bell ringing in Sturgeon has been important in reinforcing that the issues in the mature/older areas of St. Albert are different than those issues in the newer areas such as North Ridge. Aging infrastructure and seniors’ issues are important issues in the Sturgeon area. Some fabulous yards – front and back in Sturgeon reminds one of one of the many reasons why this city has the character it has. I wish everyone took the time to view some of these gems of older homes and their respective yards. As of today, it is now apparent that residents are beginning to think “fall”. Suddenly, October 15, election day, does not seem very far away as people talk about fewer daylight hours, fall coming, Thanksgiving plans, garden harvesting, berry picking etc., all signals of summer is half over and planning for fall activities begins to enter the minds of residents. A story, from Friday: A woman who had immigrated to Canada from Belgium was dressed in red, proud of Red Friday in support of our troops. She was quite elderly and could only say “without Canadian troops freeing Belgium, we would have lived a life of suppression and poverty in Belgium”. She was proud to wear red to support the troops in the Middle East she said, and few could appreciate why she was so proud to be a Canadian. July 15, 2007, 10:30pm Strolled through the farmers market, attended the Botanic Gardens festivities, attended a barbeque and saw many friends at the Junior A Steel pancake breakfast. So, lots of cake and fresh fruit. Recent door bell ringing in Heritage Lakes has delivered to me a message of “bring back the fundamentals to St. Albert of grass cutting, pothole repair, traffic control, snow removal and park maintenance”. While there is substantial support for road infrastructure (WRR), the input has focused on “bring me better value for taxes; which has declined in recent years”. I rang a door bell one day and the police showed up before the dog stopped barking. A woman at the door on the phone and I decided to “get outta Dodge”. The RCMP member wanted to know where I was going…………….. Well……….as it turns out since I was not involved in that particular domestic dispute, I was allowed to go to the next house. The woman on the phone and the cops were looking for someone else ……….I was the wrong person at the door. I presume the RCMP were around the corner waiting for someone to arrive on the scene. Yup – I left quickly. Finally……….another door sign I came across reads …..“I like my vacuum cleaner, I like my current religion and I have no money to donate”. July 7, 2007, 9:00pm Strolled through the farmers market and after cake, ice cream, cookies and fresh fruit, I decided to continue with my quest of 20,000 doors. Door bell ringing in North Ridge, Heritage Lakes, Deer Ridge and Lacombe Park has yielded recent feedback in a few general categories:
While there are many door knocking stories – 2 come to mind. First, someone has trained a blue jay to ring their door bell for food; first by implanting food in the door bell button and later by nurturing the relationship with the bird itself. Secondly, I met a young Iraqi couple who had been in St. Albert since 2002 and were working becoming citizens soon. Their stories made my day. Finally……….many door signs but my favorite so far………..“Please ring the door bell and run; our dog needs the exercise”. July 3, 2007, 12:30pm Strolled through the downtown summer kickoff the other nite………….good candy, art, poetry, conversations and ice cream. Door knocking is in full swing in North Ridge, Deer Ridge and Lacombe Park. Feedback to date is focused on the following issues:
Someone sent me a neat poem: With election time coming A man of character A man who is upright
June 24, 2007, 7:52pm Door knocking has begun in recent days and the reception and feedback has been very positive and supportive. After the first 400 doors, the feedback so far has focused on the following issues:
I will soon be able to announce the campaign office location. Nolan Crouse
June 20, 2007, 8:30am The past couple weeks have been filled with fine tuning all the work that is needed to execute all the various functions required to ensure a successful campaign. Most importantly Ms. Cathy Heron has agreed to work as my Campaign Manager, and for this I am grateful. While there remains a significant amount of work relative to many details, having Cathy in support will truly allow me to concentrate on door knocking for essentially the entire summer and fall. I could not be more excited about the possibility of walking the entire city day after day listening to views and opinions of residents and being introduced to the thousands of residents within the community who I have not met. Nearly 50 have volunteered to assist in the election effort so far as it is through a strong team that the goal will be met. Nolan Crouse
June 5, 2007 4:28pm The past several days has been filled with the details that are required to pull together a team of leaders to assist in the many aspects of a campaign. This includes signage, phone campaign, door knocking campaign, brochures, fundraising. The time spent communicating to the many folks who have volunteered so far is a lot of fun. Talking with people about issues; about economic development, about regional issues, about taxation, about the environment; about social issues; about housing etc., is fun, motivating and educational. Those prepared to help in the election effort so far number nearly 40; it is through a strong team that the goal will be met. Nolan Crouse
June 1 , 2007, 5:53pm Today, was a lot of planning for the next 4 months relative to the typical requirements of a campaign relative to fundraising, website work, team planning, etc. The newspapers have been very gracious in their reporting as today the SCN printed a great article complete with a parade picture. The last Mayoralty campaign in 2004, each of Mr. Plain and Mr. Chalifoux spent about $25,000 to be elected, so planning to raise funds in this amount have begun. Most folks in Canada seeking public office put up significant amounts of their own money, so that is something people have to consider when deciding to serve in this manner. This is not tax deductible but rather a straight expense. Today, time was spent communicating to many folks who are interested in this part of our democratic process. Meetings, emails, phone calls, faxes and letters all form the necessary ways to link with others who can assist in the election effort. For the second day in a row, I reflect on time with sadness (I promise this will not be a regular blog closing, but I must not pass on this). Five years ago today, my mother passed away in Viking of cancer. All her families miss her, and she too would be pleased to know I have decided to seek to serve the community in this fashion. Nolan Crouse May 31, 2007, 9:50pm Mayor Paul Chalifoux recently announced his intention to seek the PC nomination for the St. Albert constituency, and as such will not be seeking the Mayor’s chair in October, 2007. Paul has served our City well as Alderman and Mayor, in addition to his countless boards, coaching and other volunteer roles in St. Albert. When Paul decided not to run for Mayor in 2007, I decided to begin the challenge of seeking the role as St. Albert’s 21st different Mayor over the past 100 years. It would be an honor and privilege to serve in this capacity. After discussing this with my family, I have shared with the local media this week that my intention is to begin the work immediately to convince St. Albertans that I am the best choice to provide leadership to our community in this fashion. I look forward to knowing if I have convinced the majority on October 15. May 31 is a day of sad reflection for me as 43 years ago today, my older brother lost his life in a swimming accident, a day etched in my mind forever. He was only 15 at the time but I am sure he would have been pleased to hear of my interest in seeking this important public service role. Nolan Crouse |
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