I am a self proclaimed political nerd. I started my addiction with the Rutherford show on QR 77, and then escalated it to running home at lunch every day so I could watch Question Period.
I have weaned myself of the Question Period ritual, but I happened on it the other day in the afternoon. Our own MP Ted Menzies was answering all sorts of questions from the opposition and it reminded me of how I met him and what he has accomplished since.
I first met Ted Menzies in 2004, it was shortly after Peter Mackay and Stephen Harper decided to merge the two “legacy” parties. Ted came from the PC side and I had come from the Reform/Alliance side, and although the guys at the top were all smiles and handshakes I can tell you there was some apprehension at the local level over the merger. With Grant Hill retiring we were also thrown into an immediate candidate race and Ted was the winner of that contest. He went on to easily win here in 2004 and has served as our MP ever since.
I served on Ted’s board for about a year, and then left to work provincially as my focus on politics became solely on the race to find a replacement for Ralph Klein. Ted was professional, and had a good media savvy from the beginning. It wasn’t long after that he was made a parliamentary secretary for the department of International Trade. He was promoted to the finance secretary and from there he has now been made the Minister of State in the Harper government.
How did he do all this one may ask? My answer simply is Ted Menzies rolled up his sleeves and went to work. I was in attendance at Stephen Harper’s famous Stampede Barbecue this summer and in front of a packed house the Prime Minister announced Menzies had in fact won the hardest working MP title. Local politicians, and constituents alike, will all concur with Ted winning the award. It’s ever too often we complain about politics and politicians — I am likely more guilty than most — however, I think it’s important to recognize good work as well.
I know that Ted and MLA George Groeneveld were both pivotal in making the “McAlpine” 32nd Street bridge right here in Okotoks happen. Of course I would be selling everything short if I didn’t mention Bill McAlpine’s tireless effort to making sure that project went through. Bill imposed his will on both Ted and George and today we are fortunate to have another building block in a great community.
A few weeks ago Ted showed up in High River to go door to door advocating the importance of literacy; it’s quite obvious that although he is now a cabinet minister he has not forgot where he came from. Ted Menzies’ farm background has always served his constituents well, always the advocate for agriculture in caucus and cabinet. Ted uses his connections and experience to help other ministries like agriculture and being an advocate for things like Duty Free access to new markets for beef producers, and the Agri-Recovery Program.
It doesn’t matter where I run into Ted, or his lovely wife Sandy, they are always in a jovial mood, they just have that way about them. Ted has always maintained a high level of visibility here in the Macleod constituency, and is approachable as anyone you will ever meet in politics.
Seeing him on Question Period last week reminded me of how fortunate we are to have an elected official like him to represent us. I hope, as we enter into the spring and a time we expect another election, that Ted and his colleagues can form a majority government. If Ted’s work ethic is any indication of what the rest of caucus is, I think they will have a good chance.
