Will there ever be another Ralph Klein?
In my heart of hearts, I sincerely hope so, but today’s reality causes considerable doubt.
Ralph was unique, and not because he was an astute politician, but because he was a unique human being.
He was honest to a fault and that’s what endeared him to people. What you saw is what you got.
I first met him in 1978 when he was a reporter with CFCN television and I was the city editor for the Calgary Albertan.
And he drove us nuts.
He would get stories no one else would, and that’s one thing that perhaps his political career overshadowed — Ralph was a very good journalist.
We both ran for mayor of Calgary in 1980, and of course he won, but I used to remind him that if I had another 65,000 votes, I could’ve been premier.
I was a Calgary Sun columnist at that time and ran for mayor only to prove a point, which Ralph appreciated.
CFCN was governed by the CRTC, and Ralph had to quit his job to run for mayor.
Newspapers then, and I hope never will, didn’t answer to any quasi-government body, so as a newspaper guy, I could run for mayor and didn’t have to quit my job.
But as they say, the rest is history.
Much has been written about Ralph and his political career, and rather than trying to explain or justify him, I’m reminded of the great Dr. Seuss line, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
Rest easy my friend.
Still with political beasts.
As promised, pages 24 and 25 have the tweets, letter and column — shrapnel from the transit question if you will.
Once again, Cochrane has an opportunity to win $25,000, this time involving — are you ready for this? — fish.
Yep, fish.
Much like the Kraft contest a year ago in its Hockeyville promotion, this involves community effort, which of course is our long suit.
The title is for the ultimate fishing town and Cochrane is nominated.
The first voting goes from April 15 to May 3 and we’re a natural with the Bow River through town and Jumping Pound River as well. So where do we go from here?
Well, contact Dave Levisky at dlevisky@ shaw.ca and tell him you’d love to volunteer to get Cochrane another $25,000.
