I would like to welcome you to our campaign. My name is Nick Kouvalis. I am a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and have decided, along with others, to launch the “Draft a Leader” campaign.

The purpose of this site is to give the grassroots of our party an opportunity to discuss the upcoming Leadership Review vote, scheduled at the end of February 2008 at the Annual Convention in London Ontario.

I recently attended a campaign debrief put on by John Tory to explain the dismal performance of the PCPO in the last election. Obviously there are many people who have serious concerns about the recent campaign. I have many concerns that extend beyond the Faith Based Funding issue. These issues all come back to “Leadership” and that is why we are here today.

My first concern, post election, is the way this Leader's Tour, masked as a debrief, was conducted. Candidates, Campaign Managers, and Riding Presidents were invited to discuss what went wrong and what steps should be taken to prepare for the next election in 4 years. The impression that I came away with was this was a defence and not an accountability session.

John Laschinger was the Campaign Manager and he is certainly responsible for many aspects of the campaign. I am no big fan of Lasch but he is the only one actually taking responsibility. I find it very hard to believe firing Lasch and keeping everyone else is actually taking responsibility.

The fact of the matter is that all the folks that were responsible for planning and executing this campaign are still around John Tory. If we vote “no” for a Leadership Review – they will continue to be there and nothing will have changed.

I ask you, the membership, the volunteers, the people who own this party, to join our team.

Share your thoughts with us and become involved. Send a “Draft a Leader” message to any potential Leadership Candidate encouraging them to step up to the plate. I would also encourage you to meet with your local “Draft a Leader” Riding Captain and become a Delegate to the next convention.

I support a “YES” vote on the Leadership Review. The grassroots deserves to know what others in our party think and would do if they were Leader. A Leadership Race could be completed by the fall of 2008. It is the only way that any leader, including John Tory, could be fully accountable to the membership of this party.

In February 2008, say “YES” to accountability, say “YES” to a Leadership Review!