Editing 41st General Election Post Mortem Meeting (section)

=Allen Small=
Purpose: an honest appraisal of our efforts leading up to and including the writ period. We lost so there is room for improvement. Why did we lose? Recommendations for future.
Should not lose sight of the fact we did improve since last election 2011 and before - important to understand why?

5 candidates in 2003 (1991 votes) 25 candidates in 2007 (9249), 51 candidates in 2011 (19387), to 74* nominated in 2014 (39201) most ever votes. 

Candidates increased by 45% and all things being equal our vote count should have increased 45% - but it went up 100% - something caused this, we need to understand why?

My guess – 
#Protest vote (declined ballots) vote was highest in years.
# Social networks - Facebook/twitter – evidence (see 2007-11) #’s

Facebook has had enormous impact on party and liberty movement – 
*I started FB in 2008 and started blogging in 2009
*Party FB group helped spread our message and organize for 2011 election; we  doubled our candidates, doubled our vote total.
*Ran paid Facebook ads since late Feb. 2013 – ramped up during the writ period - ~$1400 during the election 
*FB stats show our ads reached over 30K on some days. FB ads are ongoing.

==My own campaign==
I had zero time to do door-to-door campaigning

*2-minutes Free time on Rogers TV and CBC Radio and TV
*2-minutes Free time CMR 101.3 FM- Canadian Multicultural Radio’s Tamil Programming, Thamil FM
*2 interviews on SUN TV Anthony Furey, Paige McPherson
*2 interviews on radio CFRA Ottawa Nick Vandergradt and 
*CFPL in London Andrew Lawton Show
*1 TVO interview on YouTube
*4 all candidates debates - in Uxbridge for Durham cand. Conner Toye, on Rogers TV, in Markham-Unionville for Unionville Rate Payers and for Chinese Community

==Party Support==
First part of writ until May 22 – persuading and securing candidates – getting my own nomination 

Weekly provincial Q&A teleconferences for candidates on Uberconference.

Sign posting day in GTA and removal and sign deliveries to Ottawa, and GTA region

FB ads needed feeding – time consuming – create/post/buy

Emails and FB messages – I received and often had to redirect the info@libertarian emails – many for candidates that did not post profiles so media sent to info or called Jim on the Party’s phone. 

Time consuming: Answering questions from candidates related to media queries etc. – research – writing

I got the most emails on First Nations

== My recommendations to Stop – Start – Continue ==

#Qualifying or Endorsing candidates – each candidate requires the support of 1 member of exec committee or 2 ordinary members going forward. 
#All candidates must accept terms of candidacy including posting rudimentary profile info – disclosing campaign plans to Campaign Director etc.
#Embarrassing moments: 
##Tamara Johnson’s full page ad resulted in backlash from Aboriginal supporters; 
##2 candidates try for nomination in the same riding; 
##Almost deregistered because none of our CAs had nominated candidates by the day before nominations closed. Managed to get two done.  Should have a CA in each region by 2018 election and focus on getting CA Candidates on the ballot. 
#Stop – ad hoc election responsibilities – “the Party”
#Redefine some of the duties of Officers of the exec comm. – during Nov. 2 Convention or by 2017 AGM
#Continue Facebook page ads – build “likes”
#Use Facebook groups to organize and message members.
#Create a communications team for Website refreshment, Facebook ads/email answers – contact info etc. – “Improve Ontario” – third party site
#Create teams in each region with sign posting responsibility during elections
#Rent long term storage space for party materials/signs etc. somewhere in GTA
#Hold monthly UberConference Virtual Provincial Monthly night for party coherence and transfer of knowledge ideas, membership/candidate recruitment.
#Followup meeting online Wed. Sept. 3 First Virtual Pub Night on Uberconference.
#Change Party colour to coincide with Feds.
#Consider Platform changes for next election.
#Liberty Now is a way to spread the world between elections.  “Liberty Now Toronto” in anticipation of rolling out to other locations.  November 1/14 preceding our Convention on November 2.