In preparation for this particular column, just so that I could be as thorough as I possibly could, I started to do some research.

As with any election, I wanted to know the candidates’ politics, where they stood on the issues, but more than anything I realized that I needed to at least know their names.

As someone who regularly writes about Calgary, it’s probably not a good idea to admit that I really don’t know who is in the running for province’s top job. That being said, I probably wouldn’t make this potentially embarrassing confession if I thought that I was the only one.  But as someone who reads the paper daily, watches the news and follows this city’s happenings, this race to become premier has essentially passed me by.

It’s not that I don’t think the outcome of this weekend’s leadership race is important. I do.  I’m all about voting.

But investing a lot of time on an election, where the outcome will generally mean the same thing, just doesn’t interest me. It’s the fall in Calgary, there are restaurants to eat at, theatre to watch and mountains to climb. Watching three people fight over the province’s most secure job doesn’t seem like an efficient use of my time. 

Whether we want to admit it or not, the Conservatives aren’t in any real danger of being ousted of their current dynasty.  Some media like to say that, depending on who the Conservatives vote as their new leader, the public’s reaction could ignite a Wildrose revolution.

In truth, all those people are doing is looking for an exciting story, but this is Alberta politics, and unless we add a cranky British judge to the debates or make the candidates make designer gowns out of their campaign posters, it’s going to be a long time until Alberta politics is actually exciting again.

So while the three remaining candidates might have slightly different platforms, regardless of whoever wins this weekend, even if it is a centre-leaning Conservative, they can only do so much.
 
And, quite frankly, I’m OK with that, at least for now.  My only hope is that the new leader will give me lots to write about. And who are we kidding? The premier of this province always does.