In Alberta’s Progressive Conservative leadership race, Doug Griffiths faces many uphill battles.
At 38 years old, he’s the youngest of six people vying to be Alberta’s next premier. Few in the province know who he is, he’s running a campaign exclusively with volunteers and with very little money, and he’s the only candidate who has never held a cabinet post. Furthermore, two key supporters quit his camp last month, casting his campaign as unimaginative and disappointing.
In turn, what Mr. Griffiths is pitching is renewal – a fresh face for a stumbling party.
The former teacher, first elected at the age of 29, remains a long shot in the eyes of many, but Mr. Griffiths’ message is striking a chord with some. Party supporters interviewed after a debate last week in Vermilion, Alta., the first of eight arranged by the party, cited Mr. Griffiths most often when asked by The Globe and Mail who had impressed them. He’s a gifted orator who also commands a strong online presence, one he’s used to mobilize supporters.
“He says it like it needs to be said,” said Kathy Blue, a local nurse who attended the Vermilion debate but has not yet decided who to support.
Mr. Griffiths is hoping to gain momentum leading into the Sept. 17 first ballot vote. (If there is no candidate with a majority of support, as seems increasingly likely, the top three finalists will form a second ballot two weeks afterward).
“People consistently underestimate us and our team. To show so well at the debate, I think, shocked a few people and gave everyone pause,” Mr. Griffiths said in an interview Monday. “I think our strategy has always been to peak at the right time. It’s very critical. Some campaigns have started off at the peak and have only come down.”
Observers acknowledge Mr. Griffiths’ strength – his public speaking, which allowed him to shine somewhat in a largely uninspiring debate where most answers were limited to just 30 seconds – but say he’s still largely unknown in a race that has drawn little interest.
“I think people who meet him recognize pretty quickly he’s a bright young guy,” said Rod Love, the long-time chief of staff for former premier Ralph Klein. “The problem he [Mr. Griffiths] has got, and they all have, is it’s July and nobody [is paying attention] right now.”
However, his campaign has stumbled as of late. Mr. Griffiths was forced to replace Christina Rontynen and Peter Pilarski, who co-write a Calgary political blog and are active in the youth wing of the PC party. The two were serving as co-ordinator of Mr. Griffiths’s provincewide supporter outreach and chairman of outreach in Calgary, respectively, but quit in June, at odds with the direction of both Mr. Griffiths and those working on his campaign. Afterward, Ms. Rontynen wrote online that the campaign “sat idle for too long,” leaving them “tired of hitting our head against a wall.”
“The process of engagement that was being implemented by a few key individuals on the campaign went against what we have been advocating for in the PC party. There came a point where we just needed to walk away,” Mr. Pilarski, who declined an interview request, said in an e-mail. The two haven’t yet taken jobs, paid or unpaid, with any rival campaign.
Mr. Griffiths said he remains close with the two, but acknowledges the campaign’s low-profile, grassroots approach was at odds with their goals.
‘They’re young, they’re energetic and they really wanted a splashy campaign,” he said, citing the campaign of rival Alison Redford, who has challenged other candidates to debates and broken rank with party policy on several issues. His campaign, he said, pushes forward. “We filled those shoes in about 15 minutes.”
The PC leadership race remains difficult to gauge. Only party members can vote and candidates (who sell memberships to supporters) keep their sales totals quiet.
If Mr. Griffiths surges and earns a spot on a second ballot, he’d be formidable – the type of blank-slate candidate who, buoyed by sudden momentum, could attract broad support. However, he’ll first need to catch the eyes of PC members again in each of the seven remaining debates. And, if he manages to do that, he’ll then need to figure out how to earn and keep their vote. After all, Mr. Pilarski and Ms. Rontynen were once supporters, too.
