Clarke’s race entrance raises questions
In this weekly series, Leader-Post reporter D.C. Fraser and StarPhoenix reporter Alex MacPherson round up everything happening on the campaign trail as candidates compete to be the next leader of the Saskatchewan Party and the Saskatchewan NDP.
For most of the last three months, the five candidates vying to replace Brad Wall have been sitting at the same table, disagreeing on comparatively minor policy points but generally united in their view that the outgoing premier put the Saskatchewan Party on the right trajectory.
That changed this week when Rob Clarke entered the race by threatening to turn over that table.
The former Conservative MP launched his leadership bid by blasting the party’s current crop of MLAs over “scandals,” “insider deals” and “intolerance.” Then he took on the party itself after being denied the opportunity to participate in a leadership debate.
This is, perhaps for the first time since Wall announced his plan to retire, something new.
But while Clarke’s entrance into the race is the most interesting development in what has been an uncontroversial affair, it also raises questions: Why did he join less than a month before the deadline to sell memberships? And does he stand a realistic chance of winning? Rumours about Clarke’s candidacy have been swirling since August, so it is possible that the veteran politician has been quietly selling memberships — which are needed to win the Jan. 27 election — for months. If that’s the case, he could be a legitimate contender.
At the same time, Clarke could be building his profile for a return to politics elsewhere. The former RCMP officer told reporters this week that he has no interest in returning to federal politics, but there does not seem to be any motivation for joining the race other than winning or setting up a later run. Whatever the reason, Clarke’s entrance is going to shake up the race and force the other five candidates — Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Ken Cheveldayoff, Alanna Koch, Scott Moe and Gord Wyant — to address sharp criticisms of the party’s record. The next debate is likely to be livelier than those held earlier this fall.
The Sask. Party, meanwhile, on Friday released the first batch of campaign finance disclosures, documenting how much cash each of the initial five camps were able to raise by Halloween. The disclosures contained few surprises, but are perhaps more interesting for what they don’t include.
First, Cheveldayoff’s sizable fundraising lead could prove illusory if Koch, Moe and Wyant have lined up but not accepted donations. The next batch of disclosures, which are expected in January, should paint a clearer picture of which candidates were able to continue gathering steam over the holidays.
Second, it won’t become clear for some time which candidates are signing up the most members. Money is a huge factor in elections, but it’s entirely possible that a comparatively under-resourced campaign could prove more attractive to potential party members — such as teachers — than a wealthy one.
The exception to this is almost certainly Tina Beaudry-Mellor, who admitted previously that her campaign lacked cash. The scale of her fundraising deficit was made clear Friday, when she camp reported taking in barely 20 per cent of what Cheveldayoff’s team attracted — a dismal showing.
Beaudry-Mellor intends to stay the course for now. While a lot can happen in two months, it seems she stands little chance of making it past the first ballot in January.
On the policy front there were a handful of developments this week. Wyant released his education platform, while Koch reiterated hers. Moe, whose camp has been quiet lately, possibly because his caucus backers are tied up with day-to-day legislative business, unveiled an ambitious plan to expand the province’s population to 1.5 million by 2030.
More interesting are a handful of suggestions aimed at creating new government ministries — Cheveldayoff floated the notion of a Ministry of the Child, which had previously been proposed by Sask. NDP leadership hopeful Ryan Meili, while Beaudry-Mellor pitched a Ministry of Accessibility. These seem like strange suggestions from members of a party committed to smaller government.