Eleni Bakopanos Quebec
Dear fellow delegates,
Eleni Bakopanos
I am thrilled to support my good friend and former Member of Parliament for Brossard, Alexandra Mendes, for President of our party, the Liberal Party of Canada. I have known Alexandra for the past 15 years. I worked in politics, both provincial and federal, for over 40 years and have worked with and supported a number of party presidents, both as a volunteer and as the former Member of Parliament for AHUNTSIC, I believe Alexandra embodies the best traits of these past presidents who have served our party and its members with distinction.
Alexandra believes, as I do, that the liberal party members ultimately are responsible for the decision-making process and their ideas and recommendations should be respected and valued, as well as implemented by their duly elected officers. Decisions have to come from the bottom-up not top-down and this has to be the modus operati of everything we do as a political party in order to grow and again earn the right to be a contender for the governance of our great country. She believes in a democratic, transparent and accountable executive which answers at every occasion to the party members who are the heart and soul of the our party, and by serving their interests she assures their continued support of and continued involvement in our party. Whenever she participates in a town hall, a delegate meeting, or other activity during this campaign, I can attest to the fact that one of her best traits is that she listens carefully and intently to party members' concerns and opinions, always in a very respectful manner, even if she disagrees with their point of view. She confidently and calmly manages to connect with them, to make them believe that their opinions and suggestions are important and that they will be seriously considered, by her as President and that she will follow through with their recommendations in improving our party.
Alexandra knows that as President her role is one of supporting the leader and her former caucus colleagues, by providing them with input from the executive and the countless party members. She is committed to the fact that the leader and liberal MPs are the main focus of any national debate, not the President, and that as President her role is to assist them, from behind the scenes, by providing them with all the necessary tools, both in ideas and in manpower, that the party apparatus can mobilize to help them serve their party members' interests, as well as the interests of their constituents and our country.
For these reasons and many more, I am confident that Alexandra is the President who, along with all of us, will rebuild a strong, dynamic and interactive party that will earn the right to once again govern our great country.
If you agree that the Liberal Party of Canada, our party, needs to be a more democratic,more transparent and more accountable party please join me in voting for Alexandra at our party's convention in Ottawa next January.