Greens are Facinating

The next few posts will be about the people I've met through this convention.

-Mike Nagy nearly became the Deb Grey of Green politics in Canada.- Deb Grey was the first elected Reform Party MP who broke the ice and led the way for the reform party to take a firm hold in a subsequent election.

-In Sept of ’08 He was winning the by-election for Guelph, something that took nearly three years in the making through countless volunteer efforts by himself and others. The by-election was canceled at the last minute by the call of the general election in the fall of ’08. The issue of strategic voting became the deciding factor in Guelph and led to a liberal win and took away what was going to be an important first for Canada, an elected green party MP in the house of Commons.

-Beneath the surface of this public story is a heart stirring personal tale that Mike endured as well. He lost both of his parents and suffered financial loss through his focus on these elections. As it turns out Elections Canada penalizes any party that successfully raised a lot of money for the by-election which was canceled. Mike had job offers turned down and opportunities lost all by bad timing. Or was it just bad timing?

-The Green Party of Canada twice scheduled its bi annual general meeting. It was put off for the bi election in order that full support might be devoted to Mike's camgain, then by law for the general election.

-If one were a conspiracy theorist one might be tempted to accuse Stephan Harper of setting the by election to converge with the convention of an upstart party, then, finding that about to be lost, setting the general election. He could not have created a more costly and harmful set of circumstance for Mike Nagy and the Green Party of Canada.

One could understand if Mike were to come across as bitter, yet he does not. He's moved on and will enter into post graduate work next year.

Rather than blame others it might be more helpful to take a hit from Murphy’s Law and roll with the punches. The greens have come through some pretty dramatic ups and downs but if we keep our chin up, focused on what we believe to the right path, in time the gates that have kept us out will open and let us in. Mike is an example of green thinking found in this convention which does not dwell on the negative but rather reaches out to the next opportunities that set backs like this leave behind.