Thread by @JasJohalBC

1.  Hang on to your soon to be recycled BC United merch, it’s time for another edition of Monday musings! Here we go…. #bcpoli #cdnpoli

2.  Interesting rebate announcement from John Rustad today. It’s policy that gets people talking. Pity, for him his COVID comments caught up with him. Here’s my full interview with him on the rebate, safe injection sites, bill 44, and his covid comments.
 podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the…

3.  Rustad needs to understand he has the potential to be Premier, so he has to start thinking like a moderate mainstream leader, and not spending his time boxing with shadows. Remember Bonnie Henry is liked more than elected officials and Jordan Peterson.

4. John Rustad’s promise to abolish Bill 44 and deliver $10 billion in infrastructure funding over 10 years to municipalities had tongue’s wagging at UBCM. Abolishing 4 units on a single-family lot will resonate with suburbanites in single family neighbourhoods.

5.  David Eby’s speech at UBCM was flat and it had no big policy announcements. Perhaps they were waiting for the campaign to begin. I hope so for their sake. So much of what I’ve seen from the NDP in the past few weeks has been lacklustre.

6.  Four broad themes: affordability, housing, health care, public safety. Do the NDP have a sellable message and record for BC voters on these issues. That’s the election. Figure it out, or come election night NDP supporters will all look like the kid at Eby’s Friday rally.

7. This election will be tight, just like 2017, but the underlying conversation on land use and First Nation decision making has all the potential to get ugly and racist. Shades of the 1996 campaign.

8.  How far we’ve come. Leger poll from one year ago

9. Independent (formerly BC United) Richmond Centre candidate Wendy Yuan continues her heavy presence on social media, with a recent 450-person rally and her aggressive door knocking campaign. It won’t help her.

10. Her core strategy was to be asked to be the BC Conservative candidate in her riding. It’s too late. This is how one well connected political operative described it to me….

11. Former B.C. United MLA and now Richmond B.C. Conservative candidate Teresa Wat is not supportive of Yuan running for the party. So that’s another major roadblock for.

12. Keep hearing Falcon threatened to restart BCU campaign if BCC didn’t take his friend BCU MLA Trevor Halford as a candidate. Halford fought the BC Conservatives to the end, and now he’s one of them. He needs to cheer up.

13.  A bit of advice to all candidates. There are no undecided voters on Twitter. Focus on local issues, engage with your fellow citizens, and knock on doors. Stay away from petty online nonsense.  BCC candidate Dr? Jody Toor learned that the hard way…

14.  Hearing Bryan Breguet, BC Conservative candidate for Vancouver-Langara would have been dropped because of his idiotic Twitter posts, and replaced by BCU’s Jaime Steine. However…

15.  Steine’s is viewed as too close to Michael Lee, who was vocal about excluding Aaron Gunn from the BC Liberal leadership race. In politics people don’t forgive and forget quickly

16.  This also points to a deeper issue. BCC true believers, who have been with the party when it was a non-entity, bristle at all the newbies wanting a seat. The old guard won’t bend. This will be an on-going issue, win or lose for the party.

17.  It can be argued BCC is not yet a free enterprise coalition, and those advocating for them to widen the tent will get pushback. Continued moderation will alienate the true believers. A battle is coming, over the medium and long term.

18.  Hearing from many federal liberals and some federal conservatives who say they’re not comfortable voting for BC Conservatives. This isn’t a coalition many have said to me, but a social conservative party

19.  Heard about one Metro Vancouver BCC candidate who was looking for a campaign manager just recently. The candidate hadn’t yet secured a campaign office, and was strapped for cash. I’m sure there are many like that.

20.  The BCC rise has been so quick it will interesting to see how they do with signs, outreach, and volunteers at the candidate level. Good poll numbers help, but look forward to seeing the ground game, assuming they have one.

21.  How real is this moment for the BC Conservatives? Is there an organization behind that hype and hyperbole, or is it like that scene from Wizard of Oz, when Toto pulls back the curtain and exposes the not so mighty Oz.

22. Why is there a lack of Green candidates? Did the Green’s forget about our fixed election date? They had four years to prepare for this?

23.  Thanks to the BC Road Builders for inviting yours truly and Keith Baldrey to their yearly convention to discuss BC politics. Lots of fun and great questions as always with this incredibly engaged group.

24.   Join me Tuesday’s and Thursday’s at 4 pm for our political panel with former cabinet minister’s Mary Polak and Moe Sihota. The show’s also available on podcast and streaming if you wish to take a lovely stroll through London like this listener did last week.

25. Keith Baldrey also joins me Friday’s at 4 pm for ‘The week that was in BC Politics.’ Thanks for all your comments, encouragement, and tips everyone. See you next Monday!!