Here Are My Picks for Premier and Cabinet
Time to put transparency into action
Tomorrow, we vote for our leadership. It's usually done through secret ballots, but tonight, I'm going to tell you who I'll pick.
Making the Decision
It's been a busy few weeks since getting to the legislature.
We've had meetings upon meetings, set up a constituency service operation, and held a super well-attended meeting where almost 30 of you came out to have your say on leadership and share your ideas for a better territory.
Through all of it, I've learned a lot. I've received input from my constituents. I've gotten to know an assembly full of fresh faces. And I've weighed it all against our territory’s biggest priorities.
After all of that, I am confident this is the best slate of candidates to represent our regions and our territory in leadership.
My Picks
Premier: RJ Simpson
Speaker: Frederick Blake Jr.
Cabinet
North: Lesa Semmler, Diane Thom
Yellowknife: Caroline Cochrane, Caroline Wawzonek
South: Shane Thompson, Ronald Bonnetrouge
Why Share Them?
We were presented with an overwhelming mandate for change this election. I believe step one in delivering that change is putting transparency into practice in our own decision-making.
Plus, I really don't like the secret ballot. So, absent formal changes in the process, I'm using the tools at my disposal to give my constituents the honesty they asked for when they took time to chat with me throughout the campaign.
Working Together For Progress
A lot of the defense of the secret ballot centres around the idea that it will make it tough for people to work together if they know who voted for, or perhaps more crucially against, whom.
I want to be clear: I’m bringing the voice of my constituents and the priorities they elected me on to this vote, as I will to the legislature over the next four years. But that doesn’t mean I plan to move forward with anything but the spirit of consensus and collaboration with whomever ends up sitting on the other side of the house.
I think every single person in this legislature came here for the right reasons. And if there's one thing we all have in common, it's that our constituents want us to get things done.
In my view, getting things done means working with whoever you need to deliver. So let's get to it!