Date: May 14th 2009

May 14, 2009

Dear Friends,

Just over 24 hours ago we won our contest, as I learned that I would have the honour of once again representing this great community in Victoria. The attached link has a video "thank you" attached, but lest you are receiving this via blackberry, etc., I wanted to express once again how much I appreciate all you have done for me.

Between naps (yes, I slept most of the day away, yesterday!) I have received over 100 emails of congratulations and have had to empty my voicemail mailbox twice.  In every response I have lead with "what a great team I have!".  Let me put our success in context for you:  we took a riding that was "up for grabs" and classified as a "swing" riding (winnable, but by less than 1,000 votes) and won it by a convincing margin (2,300 votes!).  This is solid BC Liberal territory, now.

As I have said to a few of you in the last week, I stopped being stressed on the 3rd or 4th of May... not because I knew we would win (I didn't, though it "felt right") but rather because I saw all around me that we were firing on all cylinders and, quite simply, could not have been doing more.  We could not have knocked on more doors, rang more phones or waved at more cars.  Win or lose, I thought, we've given it everything we have got to give.

This is, perhaps, expected of the candidate, but I've never seen that commitment from volunteers before.  SO many of you missed work, play, and other important commitments to make our challenge your top priority... in some cases, since before Christmas.  Of Joan, our fearless leader, and Kareem, our E-Day Chair with a cool head and magnificent heart, I cannot say enough.

I am humbled and truly overwhelmed.  Thank you.

 

Iain Black