On September 20, some 50 people attended the Leonard Domino & Associates “Election 2007 Seminar”. The program outline is available here. It was a full and, I think a useful day.
The Leonard Domino message was consistent
Of course, the main Leonard Domino message at this conference was consistent with the basic approach to government relations we’ve been preaching for more than 20 years.
- In Government relations, there’s never any choice: you to deal with the government the people elect: government relations is always about negotiating, and it takes trust and mutual respect to have effective negotiations.
- At election time, there’s a risk that organizations who must deal with government may be perceived by parties or happens, the trust and mutual respect can go out the window.
- So treat elections as an opportunity to build your understanding of the values of the political parties and to forge relationships with individual candidates.
- Seeking opportunities to go canvassing with individual candidates – men or women who you sincerely support for their personal qualities – is an excellent way to learn and to connect.
- Always remember: your focus should be on understanding the values and real needs of those involved in the electoral process, and then working to identify ways in which your needs and values can mesh with those of the government – no matter which party wins.
That’s been our basic approach to government relations for more than 20 years, and I’m proud to be able to say that, quite simply, the Leonard Domino approach to government relations gives you the best possible chance of achieving your negotiating goals when you're dealing with government.
There were also some pretty special moments at the Election 2007 Seminar.
That’s one of the things that makes these seminars worthwhile – for us, for our clients, and for the active political people who agree to participate: the interactions really do give rise to some special moments and to the sharing of information in an unusual way. The morning session’s “politicos” included Michael Prue, NDP MPP for Beaches-East York, David Zimmer, Liberal MPP for Willowdale, and Brian Patterson, Director of Campaign Operations for the Ontario PCs. Here are just some of things we all learned in the special moments of their discussions:
- The Liberals may regret having taken away the NDP coffee machine: after the last election, the NDP was one seat short of having enough to be an official party with the budgets and privileges that entails. Instead of working out an accommodation the way some past governments had, the McGuinty Liberals shut down the NDP party apparatus – to the extent of taking the coffee machine out of their caucus room. It still rankles, and if there’s a minority government situation, the memory of that coffee machine will be the unspoken “elephant in the room”: don’t take it for granted that the NDP would back a minority Liberal Government.
- If you want to know what kind of Premier John Tory would be, think Bill Davis: Tory’s background in business makes him more comfortable with delegating authority. If he’s elected, look for a reduction in the “Imperial Premier’s Office” pattern that grew up over the Peterson, Rae, Harris and McGuinty governments. Ministers would have the clout to make decisions in their areas of responsibility, and that would change the government relations challenges you’ll face.
- No party has a really strong handle on mental health issues: not surprising, because these are among the most intractable challenges any government will face. There’s agreement that mental health needs more priority – and that this must include measures to address housing issues – but it’s not a centre-piece of any party’s platform and there aren’t any real clear election commitments out there. There may well be opportunities to engage the next government and Legislature in serious efforts to reform mental health services, but it won’t be easy or automatic.
One of the most special moments at the conference happened when a participant asked what sounded like a disillusioned question.
She asked “Was I just being naïve, thinking that political people would come to a seminar like this and not just campaign?”
Michael Coren, the moderator for that part of the seminar said “I fear you were naïve,” and then a very interesting thing happened. The politicians – one new candidate, a retired cabinet minister and an MPP running for his second term in the house – stopped campaigning and gave answers that I think came from the heart.
The rookie candidate – Nina Tangri who is running for the PCs in Mississaugua-Streetsville – explained that she’d decided to run because of her work at the local hospital and health services: “If I wanted to make a real difference… this (running to become and MPP) was just something I had to do. And now I have to find people who share my concerns – including MPPs from all parties and people from the community to help.”
Former NDP Cabinet Minister, Ruth Grier, explained that making changes in government is never easy. As Minister of Health, Ms Grier finally pushed through a reform to the governance of health professions that had been lying fallow in the Ministry through 10 different Ministers of different parties.
“You realize pretty quickly that you won’t be able to do it all, so you have to pick things that really mean something to you and try to drive them through the bureaucracy, the caucus, the cabinet and the legislature. It’s hard and you need allies so you’re always looking for people who share your values and concerns.”
Liberal Peter Fonseca has been the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health Promotion and he explained that, at first, he found himself literally buried under representations from “stakeholders”. He said he got his head above water when he found issues that he believed in and where he thought he could make a real difference – like improving the nutrition of senior in care facilities in Ontario. “It might not be dramatic, but the health implications are huge – both in health cost and quality of life terms”. His advice? Find an elected official who is passionate about the things you want to achieve, too.
We’ve always said, successful government relations is really about understanding the values and needs of the people involved in government.
At the end of the day, that’s the real message all the politically active people who participated in the Election 2007 Seminar communicated, too.
Who’s going to win the election? I don’t know. My friends in all the parties say they’re doing very well – but they always say that. But when I think about the quality of the political people from all parties who participated in our seminar, I think there’s a very good chance that the real winners will be the people of Ontario.