Notice to Members

Your NDP membership gives you the opportunity to participate in the democratic process locally by choosing a candidate to represent our communities in the next federal election. We are fortunate to already have two strong candidates, Jacqui Gingras and Richard Smiley, from whom to choose and there could be others before the August 8^th deadline. This is your notice of our upcoming nomination convention.

NDP members will meet in Armstrong August 23 to select a candidate who will not only represent the membership, but all those who wish to vote for a change in our federal government. In the 2011 election 14,955 voters chose NDP in this riding – a very good base from which to build.

If you, or if you know someone who would be a good candidate, the deadline to join this race is August 8^th.

The North Okanagan-Shuswap NDP nominating convention will be held:

     Date: Saturday, August 23

     Time: 2 pm

     Place: Sunset Coronation Hall, 3005 Wood Avenue, Armstrong, BC (formerly Odd Fellows Hall).

There will be a guest speaker and refreshments. We look forward to seeing you there.

Donation cheques can be made to North Okanagan Shuswap NDP and either brought to the convention, or mailed to:

North Okanagan Shuswap NDP
c/o Nick Hodge, President

PO Box 425
Lumby, BC  V0E 2G0

Secure credit card and Interac donations can be made at:

https://secure.ndp.ca/riding13/index.php?riding=59020&language=e

100% of your donation will be used in this riding, which now stretches from Chase-Seymour Arm to Edgewood.

North Okanagan Shuswap NDP Candidate Application deadline August 8, 2014

With the nomination date for the next federal election set for August 23, the deadline for applying to be a candidate to represent the NDP in the next federal election is August 8th.

The challenge in waiting for the deadline is the short period of time to campaign to the local members, who are the ones who get to vote at the convention. The clock is ticking, we know there are passionate and committed NDP supporters who want to give up the next year getting to know the 100,000 or so eligible voters in our riding, so let's talk about it. Who do you think would make a good candidate?

Is there a relationship between election spending and results?

Let's have a look at past results and compare them to total expenses. Fortunately, election expenses are carefully documented by most parties and the reports are available at Elections Canada. How did the NDP fare in federal elections over the past two decades?

         For those who like numbers:

Campaign Year	Candidate	NDP Election Expenses	Percent of NDP Votes	Results
1988	Lyle Macwilliam	n/a	43%	1
1993	Lyle Macwilliam	n/a	24%	2
1997	Calvin White	17,699	12%	3
2000	Wayne Fowler	4,575	8%	3
2004	Alice Brown	36,696	24%	2
2006	Alice Brown	31,917	26%	2
2008	Alice Brown	17,160	20%	2
2011	Nikki Inouye	16,845	26%	2

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okanagan%E2%80%94Shuswap & Elections.Canada

Note that there are multiple ways to donate to the NDP, so you have to be careful that the $$$ go where you intend.

The local riding association keeps 100% of of the donations it receives, which is good. The bad part is we receive virtually zero financial support from the national party. 

We can run a good campaign locally, but we rely on local New Democrats (14,955 voted for Nikki in 2011) to pitch in financially. And they do, obviously.

Local NDP to Select Federal Candidate

Members of the NDP will choose their representative in the next federal
election at a nomination convention in Armstrong August 23 at 2pm. “We have had
interest from several potential candidates. One has been accepted by the
party’s vetting process, and another has made an application”, said Nick
Hodge, local association president.

"We have had discussions about forming a coalition of opposition parties
locally for the next election. Our executive has decided that we will
not be involved in restricting the choices on the ballot. While we
understand the sentiment, in a democracy more choice is always better,
and so we will putting forward an NDP candidate in the next election."

Voters at the convention must have been a member of the BC NDP for at
least 30 days prior to the convention. New candidates may still join the
race. Those interested should be a member of the party and be prepared
to file an application with the federal NDP prior to the convention. The
meeting is open to the public and everyone is welcome.

Location: Sunset Coronation Hall, 3005 Wood, Armstrong

To join: http://www.bcndp.ca/

Meet the current declared candidates: Jacqui Gingras, Richard Smiley on Facebook

Predict changes in the number of votes for each party, and see the results

Spreadsheet models can be used to predict the future. This one takes your best guess about how the number of votes will change locally for each party in the next federal election (compared to 2011), and shows the results.

Give it a try!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zdAWklyeAYmWdoMrQ2n63-weWyIzN4OJ9RU1LwEG-H0/edit?usp=sharing