Martin campaign poised to open up offices across country

Liberal leadership candidate Paul Martin's campaign team has already opened three campaign offices in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal and will likely open up offices across the country as the race heats up, senior Martin sources told The Hill Times. Jamie Deacey, who's coordinating individual local fundraisers and committees in major cities across the country for the Paul Martin Campaign, said he has no doubt the Martin campaign will be opening up some sort of war room offices in every province across the country. "Well, if you've got an organization that needs to be housed somewhere, yeah. Remember that the rules have changed since the last Liberal leadership and what you now have is a much more daunting challenge for the candidates than the last time. Last time, we basically ran slates, right....And if the Jean ChrÃ©tien slate won 51 per cent of the votes they got 100 per cent of the delegates. This time it's proportional. So if you get 60 per cent of the vote, you're going to get 60 per cent of the delegates." Said a key Martin strategist about opening up offices across the country: "There are no plans at the moment, but I would not rule it out." According to another senior source, there are up to 20 people being paid on a full-time basis who are working in the three offices. There are also many volunteers. "That includes people that used to be in the Minister's Office and sort of found themselves without any kind of home," said the source, who did not want to be named. Mr. Deacey told The Hill Times today's campaigns cost significantly more than they did 12 years ago, especially because of the leadership rule changes. He said much of the campaign money goes to pay for "hard costs" like offices, telephones, travel and some full-time staffers. "Democracy is a costly operation," said Mr. Deacey, who said the recent $9-million figure -- being floated to run a leadership campaign which is more than five times the amount spent in the 1990 leadership -- sounds about right. He said it seems "in line with past campaigns." Mr. Deacey, who heads up Association House in Ottawa, is a veteran Liberal operator and longtime Martin backer. He said the campaign workers and volunteers are doing two things in Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver: selling memberships and raising money. "In terms of this leadership campaign, there's two aspects to it and I think all the candidates would tell you this: sell memberships and raise money. And not necessarily in that order." But Mr. Martin doesn't seem to be having much trouble raising money. Last week, he raised $750,000 in one night and on Sept. 11, he finally revealed he had received $110,000 in a two-month period. Some are starting to estimate the minister has amassed at least $10-million and then some. The September disclosure represented donations between July and Sept. 10 and of those firms who gave to the cause, two were listed as having provided salaries and services: the Earnscliffe Strategy Group in Ottawa and the Toronto-based McCarthy Tetrault law firm. Earnscliffe, which gave $27,000 over that two-month period for salary and services, is home to many of Mr. Martin's former staffers and close advisers, including David Herle, Mike Robinson, Scott Reid, Leslie Swartman and Elly Elboim. Mr. Martin's inner circle includes Mr. Herle, Terry O'Leary, John Webster and Tim Murphy. Considered the "second tier" of top advisers are Mr. Reid, Mr. Alboim, Ruth Thorkelson, Richard Mahoney, Brian Guest, and Karl Littler. McCarthy Tetrault, which gave $19,616 for salaries over the two-month period, is the former law firm of Tim Murphy, Mr. Martin's former chief of staff. In Toronto, Mr. Littler and Mr. Webster are running the organizational show. Mr. Murphy is considered the liaison between Mr. Martin's campaign and the MPs. Ms. O'Leary is the policy person. Meanwhile, in Ottawa, Martin campaign staffers are working in office space in the Xerox tower in Little Italy. Mr. Guest, Mr. Martin's former director of communications, is working in that office along with Melanie Gruer, Mr. Martin's former press secretary. The two handle media requests and help to organize Mr. Martin's elaborate cross-country campaign tours and fundraising dinners. Mr. Guest and Mr. Reid are running the communications. Mr. Reid is one of the many Martinites across the country who work on the campaign on their free time. Mr. Murphy does most of the TV interviews. The Ottawa office opened about a month ago and has been described as a home base for campaign workers. Ontario remains the focal point of leadership campaigning with 99 of the 103 ridings held by Liberals. MPs who support the former finance minister have spent the summer signing up members for the leadership convention and the Martin campaign has dedicated a Toronto office to overseeing the membership harvest in this vote rich and crucial province. Located in a downtown office building at Bloor and Sherbourne streets, the Martin campaign office is in the same building as Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham's (Rosedale, Ont.) riding office. Minister Graham is rumoured to be a supporter of the former finance minister in the leadership race. "We're...one floor above Bill's office," said a Martin campaign worker. The office is overseen by Mr. Littler, a former policy adviser to Mr. Martin, and is manned by three to four people, said sources. Mr. Littler is described by Martin supporters as the key coordinator for the campaign operations in Ontario. Mr. Littler figured prominently in the changes made to membership forms in that province last fall which gave almost complete control over their distribution to riding associations -- most of which are Martin-controlled. They limited the number the provincial headquarters can hand out to campaign workers from five to just one. Sources say he is often on the move and coordinates events by cellphone. Martin campaign strategists downplayed the Toronto office, saying it doesn't dictate campaign strategy but is used for administrative purposes. One Martin strategist described the office as focused on "paper work" such as keeping track of memberships brought in by Martin-supporting MPs. But Ontario MPs said they were not sure. They estimate that there are between 30,000 to 70,000 unreturned membership forms in Ontario but they are not heading to the campaign office. Over the summer, MPs rushed to sign up members in response to an expected leadership review this fall. Now with the leadership convention set for November, 2003, most of the MPs are holding on to their leadership forms until Oct. 1 so they can remain valid for another year. "You are not going to find anyone in a rush to hand in their forms," said Ontario caucus chair John McKay (Scarborough East, Ont.). With some of Mr. Martin's top people such as John Webster in Toronto, MPs see the Toronto office, not as a clearing house for memberships but as a potential strategy centre for the Martin campaign in Ontario. "They use it to set up speaking engagements in Toronto and to make sure that MPs who are spokespeople for the campaign are sufficiently massaged," said a Toronto-area MP. But the MPs are used to years of personal contact with Mr. Martin and some balk at the suggestion that the Toronto office will manage them as the leadership campaign unfolds. There are hints of possible tensions between Martin campaign strategists and the MPs who support him. The other two offices up and running are recent additions and were created out of necessity, according to a senior source who said the office in Toronto was opened about two months before Mr. Martin left Cabinet last June. Unlike the other leadership contenders who remain in Cabinet, Mr. Martin is not banned from raising money for leadership purposes. Nor has he revealed the money he has been amassing in a blind trust for over a decade, maintaining that if he did those contributors could face retribution from Mr. ChrÃ©tien's government. As for the Montreal office, it was set up to deal with the Quebec wing of the federal party's upcoming annual general meeting to be hold Nov. 29. The Montreal office was focused on Quebec and the annual general meeting this fall. "That is a landmark," said a senior Martin strategist. The party's AGMs are crucial because this is where the executive for the provincial sections of the party are elected and these are the key decision-making bodies in the party. The Quebec general meeting is one of two set for the fall. The British Columbia wing of the party is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting on Oct. 4 in Vancouver. The B.C. executive is already dominated by Paul Martin supporters. Top B.C. Liberals expect the Martin campaign to formally set up an office but not before the upcoming annual general meeting. "I expect at some time there will be an office," said B.C. party president Bill Cunningham who is also a staunch supporter of Mr. Martin.

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Martin campaign poised to open up offices across country

'Democracy is a costly operation': Jamie Deacey

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