ROTHENBURGER – Who was the best Kamloops Member of Parliament ever?
Kamloops MP E. Davie Fulton facing reporters in 1968. (Image: Toronto Star Photograph Archive courtesy of Toronto Public Library)
NOW THAT CATHY McLEOD has announced she won’t run in the next federal election, the pundits are busy speculating about who might chase after the Conservative nomination.
Every current or past local politician, anyone with name recognition higher than immediate family, or anything with a pulse is being touted as a possibility. It’s a tempting but silly game.
It’s not up to you or me. It’s not even necessarily about community experience, public profile, qualifications or so-called electability.
Constituency association members usually make the decision — though not always — and that decision is based on who sells the most memberships and gets those new members to vote.
But, as I just said, it’s not always up to them, either. One day a dozen years ago, the party’s local constituency association members were called to a special meeting for an important announcement — Cathy McLeod would be the candidate in the upcoming election.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
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