Volunteers prepare for provincial election

By Elizabeth Walters

EDMONTON — Some people think young people aren’t interested in politics, but Jacquie Lycka proves that wrong. Lycka has been working in politics since she was 17. At only 23 years old, she is already leading a team as a campaign manager for Alberta’s next provincial election.

Jacquie Lycka

Her free time has been hectic ever since she signed up to be a campaign manager for Alberta Party candidate Sue Huff in Edmonton-Glenora in July. Lycka volunteers to lead a team of people in their mid 20s. There is no compensation for anyone on the team, including Lycka, but that’s not why they are involved.

Between working full-time at the legislature as Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor’s assistant and managing the larger scale tasks of the campaign, Lycka’s life is consumed by politics.

“I actually say that it’s not a job, it’s a way of life.”

“Well, I can kind of give you the whole story,” Lycka said. “Every election I find myself just doing politics, I don’t know how it happens I just find myself supporting a candidate. So I felt that this time around I really wanted to support somebody that I really believed in.”

Being a campaign manager is new to Lycka, but campaigns are not.

“I’ve never worked on a team this young before,” She said. “I’ve worked on several political campaigns in the past and I’ve always felt like the youth wing, like the young person on the team. This team it’s a totally different experience, everybody’s young so we’ve all got a lot of energy.”

Huff is also happy to have Lycka as her campaign manager.

“So now I have this fabulous campaign team where 80 per cent of the team leads are in their 20s, and it’s great, it’s a very dynamic group,” Huff said. “I think the best part of having young people is that they haven’t been jaded by experience. Experience is a good thing, but too much experience makes you think you know it all and makes you stop exploring different ideas.”

Having a team so young does build a different feeling, Lycka may be the campaign manager, but she feels on an equal level with everyone on the team.

The group being so young has created a unique atmosphere.

“I give people direction, but I feel like also because we’re all on the same level playing field, everybody has their own jobs and we all kind of work together to get them done,” Lycka said.

“Getting the experience of being a campaign manager, I feel has been completely amazing so far,” Lycka said. “I loved everything I’ve learned, and I wouldn’t trade it even if we don’t win.”

Lycka’s passion for politics is contagious among her friends and peers as well, who have joined in on the campaign.

The campaign team

Amanda Huxley currently works as a volunteer on the campaign.

“I’m getting to know a lot of people, which I really appreciate and just getting to know more about politics and the political field.”

A political science graduate, Huxley has “always been really interested in social studies and history and the way government works.”

“I think Jacquie’s doing a really great job being the campaign manager, she’s put all of her heart and her soul into what she’s doing right now, and I really appreciate the fact that she has given herself so fully to something that she really believes in.”

Another volunteer, Ian Moore, works as the communications co-ordinator on the campaign.

“Personally, I do see myself getting involved in politics on the other side, as the candidate eventually in my life, so this is kind of exposure to what works, what doesn’t work in different contexts,” he said.

“What’s unique about this is although we’re young and there’s that idea that with being young there’s lack of experience, compared to a lot of other campaigns we’re very ahead of the game.”

Moore was attracted to politics because he believes it is better to make a difference working within the system, instead of trying to break the system down.

“I think politics should be about improving our situation rather than criticizing the people that are actually doing it.”

Volunteer Jane Powell Leadbeater acts as of a “sort of a jack of all trades.”

Powell Leadbeater joined the campaign because of her friend Lycka.

“When she took on this sort of huge responsibility in the campaign, I was really impressed by that and I was really interested in what she was taking on and why she was doing it.”

Powell Leadbeater has been spending most of her time door-knocking, but she helps out wherever she is needed.

“It’s really interesting because I kind of assumed that people would be a lot less friendly than they actually are, I kind of think this is a city and people don’t want strangers at their door,” Powell Leadbeater said. “Next month I’m supposed to go door-knocking like once or twice a week.”

The older voice on the campaign, Jarrett Campbell, has been involved with the Alberta Party since late 2010 as financial analyst.

He volunteers his free time as CFO to help with strategy in the campaign.
Campbell has been interested in politics his whole life, but this is the first time he’s gotten involved in a campaign.

“Ultimately, my goal is to get Sue elected,” Campbell said.

“It had to do with just never really finding a party that really appealed to my beliefs and what I thought was the most important issues, and sure enough the Alberta Party came along and interested me enough to reach out.”

Campbell thinks that for a democracy to function properly, more people need to vote, and that means building interest in new parties.

“I’m strictly a volunteer. In fact, I donate quite a bit as well — if anything I pay to be a part of the Alberta Party.”

Funding is not available by the party because it is so new. Money is only made through fundraising events the team create.

“It is definitely a young campaign,” he said. “There are good things and bad things about that. On the positive side, there’s a lot of energy, a lot of creativity, a lot of passion. These are people that are still very much go-getters out there. On the downside it is a bit tough because, with youth comes a bit of a lack of experience, both in campaign experience and organizational experience.”

Sue Huff

Huff said the team really came together after Lycka found her and requested to be the campaign manager.

“I think it was largely a process of meeting people while I was the acting leader and then I think once you start to put a few key people in place, they attract their peers, their friends, their contacts.” Huff said.

Those peers, friends and contacts in the campaign team have rallied around Lycka and her support for Huff.

Having a youthful team helps Huff encourage young people to vote and join the campaign.

“When I’m out door-knocking, if I run across young people, I always mention that my campaign manager is 23 years old, I always mention that I have a young team,” Huff said.

Huff believes that having a young team will encourage more young people to vote. Her message to young people is, “this is your province, this is your future, this is your government and if you don’t have a say in it, a lot of people are going to be making decisions that you may not like.”

Edmonton-Glenora

The other candidates running in Edmonton-Glenora include incumbent Heather Klimchuk for the Conservatives, Bruce Miller for the Liberals, Ray Martin for the NDP and Don Koziak for the Wildrose.

A provincial election will be called between March 1 and May 31.

WaltersE5@mymail.macewan.ca