Marking your ballot for the next NDP leader

Duncan Cameron, Rabble:

For voting members, what does it means to select the next leader of the NDP?

It means choosing someone who can make the failure of Harper Conservative policies the story of the next three years.

It means selecting someone Canadians can trust to do a better job running the country than Stephen Harper.

It means selecting a leader who listens to others, knows how to build a consensus, and make difficult decisions on what matters for the future. It means someone able to work in French with Francophone colleagues, and relate well to men, and to women, young and old, urban and rural, as well as visible minorities, newcomers, and First Nations peoples.

It means electing someone who will lead from values that are not adapted to what the corporate media thinks is desirable, and to the contrary, who understands the importance of taking back power from corporations.

It means electing someone committed to building a social democratic movement in Canada, because social change never occurs without citizen mobilization.

It means electing a leader who can be trusted, whose personal character supporters can vouch for, someone who will maintain the confidence of the NDP membership, and win the respect of Canadians.

It means electing a leader who has broken new ground in improving people's lives, say, by negotiating same-sex benefits under collective agreements.

It means electing Peggy Nash leader of the NDP because she is ready to be a strong leader of the opposition; and because -- as Canadians are about to discover -- she will look like a better choice as a prime minister than any recent occupant of that office.

On your preferential ballot make Peggy Nash your first choice, and you do yourself proud. If you remain committed to someone else, consider placing Peggy second, third, or even fourth. The ranking of your ballot preferences will matter to the final outcome.

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