During the election I posted a blog of my experiences on the Ontario Tour. The blogs were written for a teacher from my old high school to be read to a political science class. I have taken out some personal references as well as the responses from the teacher to preserve their privacy.

It's nothing serious...just a light-hearted glimpes into the ground work on the campaign bus...

Sarah

*These are my experiences and do not reflect the experiences of others.

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Date: Dec 5, 2005 9:33 PM

Day...7

I just recovered from my first experience on Leader's tour. Paul Martin made his first trip in to Ontario and it went smoothly but it was rather frantic. At any given moment schedules can change so things are very 'rush rush'. The Prime Minister travels with 3 buses, one bus is the red Liberal bus and two media buses. The buses are filled with the media that travel around the country with him. The reporters are a fickle bunch, yet super nice to my face and know me by name. I am petrified that I will say something and it will end up in tomorrow’s news. They are waiting to pounce on any story. There was a story about how Jack Layton got into the wrong car and a story about some order problems we had on our Media one bus.

Tomorrow will be a day of planning and routing all over again as we expect Paul Martin to be back in Ontario before the debates.

Well, talk to you after round two...

Sarah

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Date: Dec 9, 2005 10:32 PM

Day 11..

The campaign is only on Day 11 but it seems like it has been forever. I have developed a new found of respect for the people that work for the Prime Minster’s Tour division. An excessive amount of work goes into every event. The smallest details become the most important when dealing the Prime Minister. If chair or a flag is in the wrong position, it could make or break an event. The media are praying that just one thing will go wrong...anything. The media are waiting for any interesting shot that they even film the plane boarding. The media will set themselves up to photograph or film the PM boarding the plane...it is call the "Death Watch". It is where the media will wait just to see if the PM will slip while getting on to the plane! They stand with their cameras in toe in the freezing weather (by the way, it is absolutely freezing on the tarmac...so add wind chill to the temperature) in hopes that the PM will slip. I can't figure out if it is in spite or formality but the PM will pause and wave to the vacant lot...or maybe it is to the reporters.

I think one of the lessons learn from this assignment...and it is mimicked in Scott Feschuck's Liberal Blog...is that the motorcade stops for no one. When the Wagon master says to go....we roll. If we can stop before we get on to the road, you are lucky, if we have departed, to bad so sad. We almost left a well know TV news reporter behind...good thing someone spotted him flailing his arms while running for the bus. We almost drove off to park the media buses with a very popular news reporter still in the bathroom!! lol

We just finished a few events in Toronto and Windsor. The PM is leaving us but will stop in Ontario again before leaving for the West. Tomorrow, I go back on the road and to do some prep work for another event...talk to you soon.

Sarah

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Date: Dec 21, 2005 12:26 AM

Hey!

I am so sorry for not writing earlier. I have just had a very busy two weeks with the PM in Hamilton/Niagara last week and South Western Ontario this week. I had very limited access to the Internet...shotty at best from random hotels. I have some funny stories to report....today...we had "technical difficulty" with my media bus...ie...my bus driver threw up on the highway...ahh...the glories of winter campaigns...haha.

I am heading back to Ottawa early tomorrow morning and will be home for the holidays. I will try to relay some campaign tails and experiences soon!

Sarah

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Date: Jan 8, 2006 10:27 PM

Hello from the campaign trail:

I think today is day 41? On the campaign team, we don't' measure time by dates or days of the week but by count down of blocks of time until the PM joins us again.

I wonder if the reporters remember a day when you didn't have Internet access on a moving bus driving through rural Ontario. The lush wonders of technology have spoiled some of the best of us. The media buses are outfitted with satellite TV, satellite Internet, regular wireless Internet, fridges, a microwave, and a kettle. We actually had to ensure that the media buses were able to carry coverage of the Junior hockey game so that the reporters wouldn't miss any of the game. Even with all of the comforts, I have never heard so many complaints about how the Internet was too slow, too choppy, or not working. "My porridge is too hot"...I feel bad for the non-partisan technician who travels with us. He smiles and says, "if you don't have cell phone service, am not going to be able to give you wireless. Deal with it." Mind you, being on the campaign for as long as some of the reports are, I too would be slightly upset if I lost access to the outside world.

At an event in Trenton, I was able to get a young girl her picture taken with the PM. She didn't go to the rally because she wanted to get a picture of the PM before he got back on his bus since her dad wasn't able to get his camera out on time when the PM arrived so she thought she would wait this time and be ready. Her mom was sick and couldn't go to the rally but she really wanted to see that the PM came to Trenton so the little girl said she was going to wait outside to grab a picture of the PM to show her mom that he stopped in their hometown. I spoke to the PMs wagon master and was able to get the PM to stop on his way out and take a few photos with her. Instead of getting a photo of the PM, she was able to get her photo take with the PM. It is those small things that really make a difference for us working on the ground.

Being sick on the campaign trail is not good....nothing is worse than having a really bad head cold and driving from Toronto to Peterborough to Trenton...As we drove up and down, the pressure kept changing and my ears were popping....ears popping when your head is very congested is possibly one of the worst feelings …haha.

Sarah

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Date: Jan 1, 2006 9:48 PM

Hi:

Well it is back to the campaign trail for me. I am bringing my laptop with me so hopefully I will have better internet access.

This portion of the campaign will be different from the first half. It is expected that the media buses will be fuller with more media for intense coverage of the next three weeks. It will also be refreshing for us since a lot of the media will be different from the pre-holiday crew. The journalists are often moved around to spend time on each political party campaign bus. They say it is to provide better unbiased stories…they don't want the journalist developing 'Stockholm' syndrome, where they begin to identify and appreciate their captors.

My trip with the PM is a reflection of how the next three weeks will be - busy, intense, and jammed full of events. The PM traveled from Hamilton to Windsor, making quite a few stops along the way. Each stop requires a team that plans a few days in advance. I have now been to Canada's Tomato Capital – the city of Leamington. I have also visited the town of Ayr, to see the factory where they make the chairs for the House of Commons and the Senate…as well the PM has stopped in a few local Tim Horton's…(how very Canadiana…). As much planning that goes into all of the events, there are quite a few elements that are always out of our control such as weather, the health of our bus drivers, and of course the Big Boss himself.

While cruising along the 401, the bus driver of my media bus was ill and we had to pull over on the side of the highway. This event put us very behind schedule but we still made it successfully to Ayr and the event went off without a hitch. Still running behind, we proceeded to the other events of the day until when we were on the road and received a call that we had immediate orders to follow the PMs bus and to follow their lead. The PM decided he wanted to show everyone a family farm that he grew up on. When the PM says he wants to pull over, we all pull over. As much planning and time management that goes into tour, one lesson to remember is that when ever the PM is visiting the area he grew up in, there are bound to be random stops. Apparently they can't go to Windsor with out stopping somewhere. In previous years, he has given tours of childhood memories and the famous for their ribs, Tunnel BBQ.

I am leaving early tomorrow morning for the trail and hope to have more stories later on,

I hope you had wonderful holidays,

Happy New Years

Sarah

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Date: Jan 11, 2006 10:09 PM

Hey:

I am just sitting in the hotel business centre in Scarborough. I have become ‘one’ with the hotel business centres. They are my portal to the outside world. I am at the Delta East in Toronto where we just had a massive Liberal rally. Liberal Candidates from all over brought bus loads of people in. It was intense, it was packed, it was hot, it was amazing! It is so wonderful to see so many people in a room that are all cheering and working for the same cause. The room was filled with people of all ages and of all backgrounds. The dynamics of the crowd represented a multicultural Canada, a tolerant Canada - until there was a mad dash to the coat check...not so tolerant after that. Ah…the joys of winter…

Nothing is more energizing than hearing a room chant "Four more years" or "We love Paul". Imagine being Paul Martin and hearing your name echo through the hall ways, and just as they open the doors, crowds of people snapping photographs and reaching out just to shake your hand. The intensity is wild and wonderful. I, of course do not experience people shouting my name instead I wear a name tag (which marks me as a person for people to complain to) and I do crowd control. Really, the crowd control is for people's safety, not the Prime Ministers. The Prime Minister had 6-8 body guards around him. When they are protecting him, they don't see people, they see safety threats, so even the most innocent grandma could be knocked over, so that is why we tape lines on the floor for people to stand behind and why we are vigilant with the crowd control.

Winter time campaign lesson...probably #21...#1 being the cold sucks....#21 is that the winter weather requires people to wear jackets. We ask that people leave their jackets in their car but if they must, we have coat checks. So the lesson here is, DO NOT wear a generic BLACK WOOL JACKET. I swear everyone does (I myself am guilty as well) but so does everyone other person. We had a few people who could not find their jackets after the crowds dispersed and we had a few BLACK WOOL JACKETS left over (Apparently not to the liking of the jacket-less people). We hope their jackets will be found and sorted tomorrow...

I am off to bed since the PM is doing Canada AM tomorrow which means we need to leave at 6:45am...

Sarah

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Date: Jan 15, 2006 10:54 PM

I just finished what was a very good 'swing' of the Ontario tour. I think the weirdest thing I saw on this excursion was in Caledonia where a woman ran in front of the parked Prime Ministers bus to take her photo. The situation would seem rather normal except for as the photo was being taken, she lifted her shirt...both her and the photographer ran off shortly after the exposure. I just had a 'rest day' spent in Toronto and I am out on the road again tomorrow. We are gearing up for the big finally. It will be very crazy since the PM will bounce around from province to province and with Ontario being the major battle ground, he is sure to stop here a few times within the week.

Tour has been quite the experience. I have seen a lot of the province, so much so that I can hardly list off the number of cities that we have visited, the list is just too long. I have met a lot of various people. I ate at the table with many well known journalist and I have developed a good relationship with the RCMP (always key to have good relationships with law enforcement...).

When the tour is over, I have a funny email to share of 'lessons learn' which i have been accumulating at a rapid pace...haha.

Sarah

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Date: Jan 22, 2006 7:11 PM
Subject: end of the tour

Well, I have now arrived back in Ottawa. The PM flew out of Toronto yesterday to continue on his "coast to coast" tour. Since we only work with the PM when he is in Ontario, we were disbanded and sent to work in ridings. I will be working on Marc Godbout's campaign all day tomorrow.

The last few days have been crazy. I can't even remember all of the cities we have been too...A few days ago we went to TORONTO - AJAX - OSHAWA - MISSISSAUGA - COBOURG - BELLEVILLE - BROCKVILLE - OTTAWA. Then yesterday we finished up LONDON - KITCHENER - BRAMPTON - TORONTO...


The last few days have been rally after rally with the exception in Ajax, where the Prime Minister went to an elementary school. The school across the street saw that the PM was in town and the principal came out to asked if his students could meet the PM. Since we are on a tight schedule we asked if they could come out and meet the PM at the other school. I have never seen so many students happy to leave class and run out side...haha. About 100 students bolted out of the other school and mobbed the PM. It was like a junior scrum but the students weren't trying to rile him but were trying shake his hand and get his autograph. The children rejuvenated him because he was absolutely glowing after the encounter. The PM boarded the bus and then proceeded to drive away when they must have caught a glimpse of more students running out of the elementary school because the bus suddenly did a very sharp left turn and pulled into the other school across the street and Paul Martin got off to greet more anxious children. It was great.

I have decided on my favorite campaign event - Brockville. I was so happy when I learned that the PM would stop in Brockville. Outside of Ottawa, Brockville is my hometown. My mother's family lives out there and I spent my childhood summers out in the country side. I was a little leery at first to go to a rally in Brockville since it is a rather conservative riding but I think that the Brockville event has become my favorite event of the whole campaign (that and Burlington but only because Burlington felt like a balmy 15 degrees in January). When we arrived in Brockville, we turned on to the main street only to see that it was shut down because there were so many people over flowing out of the tiny bakery. It was the end of the long day and it was wonderful to turn the corner and see so many people chanting for the PM. It was fabulous. It was even better when I ran into my grandmother. I gave my grandmother a tour of the PM’s bus and she got to meet him. My grandmother is very proud and she thought it was only fitting share her sentiment with the PM. She grabbed him and told him that I was her granddaughter and that she was very proud that I was working for him. She caught him off guard but he played it well and said that he was very happy to have me on board. The RCMP thought it was hilarious and made fun of me after about my grandma showing up.

This has been the end of my tour experience. I have a new respect for the ground work and a realization of how much preparation goes into every event - even a quick stop at Tim Horton's. I have visited every numerous cities across this fair province and I have stayed at enough Delta Hotels for a life time. I have learned some valuable lessons but will save them for another email after the campaign...

Happy e-day to everyone,

Sarah

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Date: Jan 27, 2006 12:31 AM
Subject: final chapter - Lessons learned...

Hello:

Well, the ending to my Ontario Leaders Tour job could have ended on a more winning note but it was still an amazing experience for me. I was one of the youngest people working on Paul Martin's Ontario tour and it was quite the journey. During my travels I have learned a few humorous lessons...

I know that the school semester is over but I thought I would still share these lessons that I jotted down during the campaign...

Coffee...and it's importance:
People love their coffee (as well as beer but that is another story). The bus is outfitted with a huge coffee maker. At each place the wagon masters would refill on coffee. If there isn't fresh and hot coffee, the reporters WILL complain. Believe me. In Montreal, the wagon masters bought whole bean by accident and couldn't make fresh coffee....there were tones complaints. In Toronto, we used the hotel coffee pots but when you secured them on the bus (using bungee cords), you couldn't access the spout. So no coffee for them. Another time, there were complaints about the hotel coffee...so they did a Starbucks run. Now the ironic part of this story is...that there was a Tim Horten's right across the street or a Starbucks 15 min away (so 15 there and 15 back)..30 minutes later...lattes, people have to have their lattes.

Cross routes...and language barriers:
Nothing is more important when routing than knowing what your cross street is so you can prepare for your turn. What is more important, showing the bus driver the spelling of the street so she knows what the actual cross street is. I guess no everyone knows how to spell Tscheseh street...who knew? haha. Having bus driver that speak English or bus routers who speak French is essential next time.

Technology and how spoiled we are:
I wonder if the reporters remember a day when you didn't have Internet access on a moving bus driving through rural Ontario. The lush wonders of technology have spoiled some of the best of us. The media buses are outfitted with satellite TV, satellite Internet, regular wireless Internet, fridges, a microwave, and a kettle. We actually had to ensure that the media buses were able to carry coverage of the Junior hockey championship game so that the reporters wouldn't miss any of the game. Even with all of the comforts, I have never heard so many complaints about how the Internet was too slow, too choppy, or not working. "My porridge is too hot"...I feel bad for the non-partisan technician who travels with us. He smiles and says, "if you don't have cell phone service, i am not going to be able to give you wireless.Deal with it."

When people tell you stories of their past tour experiences...head warning:
I laughed when I was told a story by a campaign manger about how when he worked with the buses during the 1980 campaign, his bus ran out of gas and he was out in the middle of nowhere. He was able to secure the situation but it had the very large potential to be bad. I laughed at his 'folk tale' and said that wouldn't happen with our new age buses....boy was I wrong.

My bus had to stop and get gas because of an excess consumption. The media buses are outfitted with satellite and such....so when all are being employed for a few hours..oh don't forget about the heat (good old winter campaign), the bus uses more gas than normal. More efficient gas tanks...but more usage on the bus. The reporters on the bus were good about it. I guess it was a matter of safely, we could have tried to risk it and get stranded on the 401 or we could have turned off their TV, satellites, and beer fridges- we pulled over for a quick fill up.

Jackets

Never wear a black wool jacket to the coat check at a rally. That is the time where you sport the bright pink or better yet, bright red with a dash of white jacket....A rally is not the time to dress fashionably. It is a time to wear layers and layers that breather because the rooms become muggy hot...I can not stress how hot rooms get...Like 40 degrees....

Never assume ANYTHING!!!!
Never assume that your bus driver has driven to Toronto at least once...
Never assume that people will not park illegally.
Never assume that people will respect pylons blocking parking spaces.
Never assume that the RCMP will NOT have typos on their directions..R and L...oh how they differ...
Never assume that the bus drivers will know how much gas is in the tank.
Never assume your grandma will not grab the PM and ensure that he is aware that her granddaughter works for him...

Snow is not your friend...despite how pretty it looks...
So lesson learned in London...is that when snow falls, it has the ability to cover street signs completely...I mean completely. We were not able to read any street signs. Good thing I wrote down landmarks. It was impossible to read any sign, which can pose as a small problem when you are driving in a town that you are not familiar with...

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Despite the outcome of the election, I will have memories that will last me a life time...and stories to share with people until I embark on my next crazy journey. If anyone has the opportunity to get involved, i would highly suggest it.

until the next crazy journey...

Sarah