Meili: Momentum, Money Bomb and Marchildon

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News Release
June 1, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

With less than a week until the Saskatchewan NDP elects a new leader, candidate Ryan Meili’s use of innovative online tools has allowed him to seize momentum in the final days of the campaign.

Last week, Meili invoked the basketball strategy of the full court press, with innovative policy announcements in Saskatoon (Prescription Drugs), Yorkton (Arts and Culture), Moose Jaw (Seniors) and Regina (Recruitment and Retention of Health Professionals). He also unveiled new endorsements from health policy expert Professor Allan Backman and Executive Director of the Romanow Commission Professor Greg Marchildon.

"One candidate, Ryan Meili, is putting forward the creative ideas and policies to achieve what Tommy Douglas described as the second stage of medicare,” said Dr. Marchildon. “Ryan’s positions on social policy are the most progressive of any candidate, allowing us to dream of a better future not only for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren."

Meili’s online campaign, already described as the most innovative by Alberta political scientist Dr. Chanchal Bhattacharya, added a new twist last week with the Ryan Meili Money Bomb. Used widely in last year’s American elections, Meili campaign staff have been unable to find any example of the money bomb technique being used in Canada before.

The money bomb concept employs a simple email and social network request for supporters to donate a specific sum of money on or before a certain date. Unlike the traditional fundraising letter, the money bomb has the capacity to “go viral” as recipients forward the original email to friends or share the posting with others on social networking sites like Facebook. The money bomb also chooses an unusual suggested donation amount.

The Ryan Meili Money Bomb, while pointing out that Ryan Meili is actually older than former Manitoba Premier Ed Schreyer was when assuming office, called on recipients to donate $34, the candidate’s age, in the final week of May. The original target of $10,000 was surpassed on Friday. At the end of the week, the Ryan Meili Money Bomb had produced a fundraising windfall in excess of $12,000 mostly from new donors, an impressive groundswell of support for the Meili campaign.

The full court press continues this week, with meetings with the Prince Albert Grand Council in Prince Albert, a campaign stop in Île-à-la-Crosse and a send-off party with Saskatoon recording artists Slow Down, Molasses and Carrie Catherine at Meili’s Saskatoon campaign office before heading to Regina Thursday morning for the NDP leadership convention.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Malcolm French
(306) 550-2277