Hands up, if you read Calgary Herald columnist Don Braid's illuminating piece on Marcella Munro.
For those of you who did, it was interesting, right?
For those of you who didn't and could care less about some person who lives and works in Alberta, I urge you to keep reading as I connect the dots all the way back here to Vancouver and Mayor Gregor Robertson.
So, who is Marcella Munro?
From Braid's column, we know Munro is Alberta Premier Rachel Notley's new "outreach" director, that she has worked as a lobbyist for B.C. oil and gas companies and that her favourite possession is her BMW 325i.
I knew she got the job in Alberta, I knew about her lobbyist work with Earnscliffe Strategy Group. The BMW? Yep, nice car but thought she might be more of a Prius lover and only drive it when she wasn't riding a bike or taking transit.
I say that because not only did Munro play a communications role in the Yes side campaign to urge Metro Vancouver voters to pay more tax to help ease traffic congestion, but she was once the co-chairperson of the environment-friendly Vision Vancouver.
That's right, the same party whose bike-riding mayor has campaigned relentlessly for a subway along Broadway and set a goal of Vancouver becoming "the greenest city in the world" by 2020.
OK, so she doesn't drive a Prius -- big deal.
But what if I told you Munro was the lead communications person on Vision's fall campaign that was largely focused on getting Robertson as much media coverage as humanly possible on his party's disdain for Kinder Morgan's plan to build another pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby.
And what if I told you Munro hosted a "telephone town hall" with Robertson on his party's disdain for Kinder Morgan's proposal to almost triple the amount of bitumen funnelled to these shores.
And what if I told you this: That Munro fully supports Kinder Morgan's proposal.
Huh?
Yep, she acknowledged this in her interview with Braid. Maybe I'm naive and thought this to be a contradiction of the highest order. I phoned Munro to discuss my naivety, left a message but she still hasn't called back.
So I asked Robertson to shine some light on this bit of head-scratching news. Yes, he said, he read Braid's piece but never once did he and Munro discuss her views on Kinder Morgan's proposal.
Really?
"No," he said. "She obviously played an important role in the Vision communications team but I had no knowledge of her personal beliefs on fossil fuels. She was a great resource on our campaign but she has her own personal views and is working in Alberta now and felt compelled to express those."
Robertson added that he was "surprised to read her comments, given what we've been doing in Vancouver and how vigorously we oppose the Kinder Morgan proposal."
Also surprised by Munro's declaration of support for Kinder Morgan were Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr -- actually she was "shocked" -- and NPA Coun. George Affleck, who said the situation only leads to more cynicism about politics.
"Here's somebody who stood up for one cause and now is at the exact opposite end of the cause," he said. "It's shocking and disappointing."
But Vision Coun. Geoff Meggs wondered what all the fuss was about. He read Braid's piece, too. After all, he said, Munro is a "political professional."
"When she's working for our campaign, she has to align herself with the views of the campaign," he said. "And now working for the premier of Alberta, she'll have to reflect the premier's views."
But as a one-time co-chairperson of Vision, shouldn't she share the values of the party? Or am I just totally naive, here?
"Well, if they can't advocate the positions that the organization has taken, they shouldn't be there. But I think all of us in large organizations have stronger or weaker identifications with some aspects of the work. So I don't think there's any story here at all."
OK, thanks.
@Howellings
