Greens Say So Long, and Thanks for All the Votes

Obviously for local Greens there was some sense of disappointment with Monday's result in the Federal Election. Gord Miller was a good looking candidate in terms of resume, accomplishment and name recognition, and while he lead the Greens to a better showing than 2011 and pretty much finished even with the NDP, their hope was to send Miller to the House of Commons and sit next to Elizabeth May. But while, that wasn't meant to be, the campaign is expressing their gratitude to the Royal City.

From Miller Campaign Manager Gerald Kennedy:

An Open Letter to the People of Guelph

Thank you.

This has been one of the most remarkable elections and local campaigns that I can remember.

‎Local engagement - whether it be at debates and all candidates' meetings, organically in the community or as part of campaign outreach - was both active and exhilarating.

Citizens were inspired to act. Voters were informed. People cared.

‎All of that made for an exciting and thought-provoking - albeit terribly long - election campaign.

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone involved in the campaign:

The people of Guelph. For being ‎dynamic and engaged. And for their warmth, generosity and spirit.

The volunteers. The lifeblood of any campaign, who were so numerous and dedicated; hard-working and earnest; passionate and committed. Wonderful people who rallied around us and never ceased to amaze.

The campaign inner circle. Local leaders, riding association members, former candidates; so supportive, informative and ‎helpful.

The campaign team. The i‎ncredible commitment shown by these tremendous men and women was amazing. Working long hours every single day, producing incredible work, staying positive and upbeat through the longest campaign since the 1800s. I'm humbled to have worked with you.

The candidate. I've known Gord Miller for 10 years - seen him consistently produce some of the best reports any government official has ever written, watched him hold governments and businesses accountable - and I can say that I've never been prouder of him. His hard work, lack of ego and commitment to both the Green Party and the people of Guelph was awe-inspiring. At 62 years old and with a full pension, he could have walked away from his gig as Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and enjoyed his retirement; instead he wanted to continue his commitment to public service for the people of Guelph and Canada to try to make this community and country better for both today and the future. Most of all, he is and will always remain my dear friend.

Thank you all.

‎I am very proud of the campaign we ran. We stayed positive. We made the campaign about issues, policy, leadership and being the voice of Guelph in Parliament. Most of all, we stuck together through the longest campaign in modern history and share a bond that will last a lifetime.

A quick aside: many have questioned where our campaign came up with our support numbers. The answer is simple: hard work and raw numbers. We knocked on 90% of door in Guelph at least once. We made person-to-person phone calls to over 60,000 numbers in Guelph almost twice over. All of the data we compiled showed that we had almost 15,000 identified Gord Miller Green Party supporters, with more than that who were 'undecided' but willing to vote for us. Finally, Gord was the second choice of almost one third of decided voters who supported another candidate. Those numbers, along with what we heard from the people of Guelph in the streets and businesses and those who contacted our office in person, by phone or electronically, were the reason for our optimism.

Alas, on Election Day it was not to be.‎

To all of the candidates: thank you for helping to keep our democratic process vibrant by running in this campaign. Most people don't realize the level of sacrifice and hard work required to run in an election. Your commitment is commendable.

To all political parties and politicians (and would-be politicos): please continue to raise the level of discourse. Please make politics about the good of the people of your constituencies and country.

To the people of Guelph: once more, thank you!