Vickie Engel announced her candidacy on Saturday, Dec. 21 for the PC nomination in Calgary Egmont.
Given that someone sharing that name shows up as a PGIB member ... in Calgary SE, there's a good possibility.
Then there's her platform page, which reads pretty much like a cut-and-paste job from Chandler's platform page.
Chandler's platform on 'family values' reads:
FAMILY VALUES - Elimination of Child Pornography and strict enforcement laws at the municipal and provincial levels of government. Elimination of interest group funding. Supports the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Stands for the sanctity of life. Craig also believes in creating a provincial sex offenders registry.
Ms. Engel's:
FAMILY VALUES - Elimination of Child Pornography and strict enforcement laws at the municipal and provincial levels of government. Elimination of interest group funding. Vicki also believes in creating a provincial sex offenders registry. Matching the Federal Conservative's "Choice in Child Care Allowance" by giving parents an additional $100 dollars per month for each child ages 5 and under. Formal recognition of income splitting between couples whether they are raising children at home or working full or part time, saving parents thousands of dollars each year in taxes. Increasing the base personal income tax exemption of each parent according to how many children they have. This would save parents hundreds of dollars each year for each child they are raising.
(Emphasis Added)
She's tried to add some additional bafflegab, but aside from substituting her name for Craig's, it's pretty obviously a direct lifting of Chandler's platform.
Smells like yet another sock puppet - no more credible than Crutcher's lame attempt at baiting the PC's last month.
23 comments:
Looks like she has a good website and all.
Crutcher never did for the nomination.
Maybe your Crystal Ball is Cracked!
Yes, but the content of the website is a blatant, and direct rip-off of Chandler's (especially in the key and important area of policy) - doesn't that make you just a little suspicious?
So Scoial Conservatives should not be singing from the same song book?
They better if they wish to get somewhere.
So Scoial Conservatives should not be singing from the same song book?
If she wants to have any credibility at all, she might want to actually use her own words, not those of Chandler's last campaign attempt.
At the moment, she's made it quite clear that she's one of Chandler's adherents, and that sets her campaign up for failure almost immediately.
We shall see.
Those values are identical to Ted Morton's and Rob Anderson's from Airdrie Chestermere. Go look at Rob's site.
Anyways, she will do well. She is not tied to a letter she never wrote.
Actually, according to her site she was a member of Chandler's original campaign.
>Engel, who helped Chandler with his original campaign, said she hopes to clear up some of the bad feelings in the constituency caused by the swirling controversy.<
Above was in her media link from the Herald.
Something to consider.
E.
she has the same webmaster as Chandler also. Do a whois lookup on the domain name and you will see the registrant emails are all @businesshost.cs...
PGIB has over 3,200 members in Calgary alone and they are encouraged to use each other.
Even Jonathan Denis is a member of PGIB.
Business Host is known to be the most reliable and inexpensive political web company. They do the website and hosting for pennies.
Also the fact that Vicki talks about helping Craig shows she has no hidden agenda.
Some have chosen to leave the party whereas, Vicki has chosen to stay.
Anonymous @ 11:53 writes:
Even Jonathan Denis is a member of PGIB.
Can you provide corroboration of that claim?
Also the fact that Vicki talks about helping Craig shows she has no hidden agenda.
It doesn't show any such thing. In fact, one could equally claim that it suggests strongly that she is very much associated with Chandler.
I have met Jonathan at a Conservative event (actually a Ted Morton event)event and he told me he was a PGIB member.
Many people still like Craig Chandler and and many people still support the PC Party.
Just because somebody supported Craig does not mean they no longer support the PC Party.
Also, I have many conservative and Liberal friends, but just because they run for office does not mean I share their beliefs.
I voted for Rick Smith the first time and he finished a distant third. I don't know if Jonathan Denis is running again but I'm going to vote for him this time - he ran a clean campaign and has a better platform than a Chandler puppet.
I've heard rumours that Denis is planning to run again.
At the moment, his website hasn't said anything official, but that could well be the season. I expect things to heat up early in the new year.
Someone wrote that Jonathan Denis had "..a better platform..."
Odd?
Never saw one policy on his website?
Wow! What a Platform
I also voted for Rick Smith and am good friends with Gordon Clarke.
Jonathan Denis is a lawyer and will do anything to win.
Just been reading this. I don't live in Egmont and didn't vote in this infamous nomination, nor do I know who Gordon Clarke is. But let's take a look at the three candidates and their websites:
Chandler - his policies are way extreme and he even talks about things like child pornography that are federal issues. Wouldn't vote for this guy for sure.
Denis - he says he's going to provide strong leadership, keep taxes low, and seems to want to take a tougher stand on crime. I don't really like this platform but at least he has something to say. Loses points with me for a cheesy photo.
Smith - I read one of his PDF's on his website and he has no policy or platform and instead says "A move up to the Provincial level of Government would be a natural step for me at this time in my career". Seems like it's all about him!
I looked at the results too - Denis got 485 and Smith far behind at 227. Pretty decisive.
My only concern with Denis is his association with Gerald Chipeur - a lawyer who routinely shows up as counsel in cases involving the defense of right-wing "christian"s who have run afoul of something. {in fact he was Stephen Boissoin's counsel in the hearings this past summer.
That, along with some vague statements about what Denis "believes" on his website suggest that he is much more of a social conservative than I'm comfortable with.
That said, I think Denis presents well when he speaks (one of the advantages of having a lawyer's training - lots of public speaking), and he comes across as charismatic. {No I don't like to emphasize a candidate's charisma, but I recognize it plays a role in the electoral process at all levels}
What Vicki Engels must accomplish (somehow) is to convince people that she is a "better alternative" to Denis, and further that she in fact is not merely someone that Chandler has pushed forward from within the ranks of PGIB to make a political point.
There is another option out there for Calgary Egmont now. Check out Donmiddleton.ca
Forgive me for sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but the whole Vicki Engel nomination does not ring true. She worked on the Chandler team and her website is almost a direct copy of Craig's. What would happen if the "Chandler machine" did manage to get her nominated (spending another $127000 in the process) for the PC Party and she withdrew from the provincial election days before the election was to take place? Chandler has indicated his intent to run as an independent in Calgary Egmont. Who would then represent the political right in the riding?
This Don Middleton talks about a family values rhetoric and also mentions his church, much like Craig Chandler and Vicki Engel.
Looks like Craig has two sock puppets up now. The logic behind this escapes me, but I sure hope neither of them wins.
I'm going to sit back and see. Middleton's website right now says very little.
His domain registration and hosting does not appear to be through the same service that Chandler has typically used (one of the question mark points around Ms. Engel that has been postulated as suggesting an association)
Middleton doesn't set off my "BS alarms" the way that Engel does.
Thanks for pointing out that my website may sound like Craig Chandler's. I will take steps to rectify that.
Let me clarify...I am not a supporter of Craig Chandler's nor anyone else who ran in the previous nomination. In fact I do not think that Craig Chandler would support my nomination.
My stance was completely neutral during the entire nomination process. It had to be, because I was the Assistant Returning Officer.
My website is a work in progress, so I appreciate any feedback and your patience while I get it up and running. This is taking a fair bit more time than I expected, as I am relying on a friend's good will to help me out in this regard. It will be added to on a daily basis.
I am running because I feel strongly about representing the people of Egmont.
If you have questions...ask me. My e-mail is on my webpage.
Sorry for the lengthy post.
I shake my head at anyone who styles themselves "liberal" or "progressive" who gasps in dismay when someone mentions they attend church. Do you understand the meaning of those two words?
Not everyone who goes to church on Sundays (or temple on Saturdays, etc.) is a nutter. In fact, I would go so far as to say there are quite an unhealthy number of people claiming no affiliation or a "humanistic" theology that hold some pretty disturbed ideas. It is only types like Chandler who cloak themselves in religious piety (yet never seem to practice what they preach) who ruin it for the rest of us.
I commend someone who has the gumption to run for public office, and not hide who they are and what they believe in. Good luck to you.
This blog is EXACTLY why I will NEVER vote PC again.
All you guys do is piss on each other.
And for the guy that wrote this:
"It is only types like Chandler who cloak themselves in religious piety (yet never seem to practice what they preach) who ruin it for the rest of us"
That type of attack is why I will never step foot in a church. That was a loser like cheap shot.
As a Liberal even I know Chandler was punted because he has leadership skills that Stelmach did not want in his party. Stelmach felt threatened.
Thanks for delivering Egmont to us Liberals. Chandler was the only one we feared.
As a Liberal even I know Chandler was punted because he has leadership skills that Stelmach did not want in his party. Stelmach felt threatened.
That's a unique perspective on Chandler, but I'd suggest his removal as nominee has more to do with the political baggage that his candidacy would have saddled the PC's with.
Stelmach no doubt is threatened - but not by Chandler's "leadership" skills so much as the cost that a volatile candidate would carry in an election. He is still in a precarious position as a leader.
I would not want to guess what way Egmont will swing now. After all of the publicity and infighting, I'd have to guess that no party has an "in" any more.
It will be a tough election.
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