1/ Over and over in @UCPCaucus we are seeing proof that a PoliSci BA doesn't make anyone a competent communications or PR professional.

It's a great degree, but it's not the best qualification for a communications role.

Watching them flounder, pick fights, lie - it's

2/ embarrassing to @jkenney , embarrassing to their universities. They've clearly not had sufficient grounding in strategic communication or communication ethics, so even neutral or positive moves by members of the AB govt are no longer trusted.

For what the Issues Managers and

3/ Press Secretaries are being paid, Albertans have a right to expect competent professionals. And Alberta trains competent professionals in communications.

But instead, Kenney has imported less credentialed folks from SK, BC, MB, ON. Look at their work histories on LinkedIn.

4/ There's a common thread. Seldom holding a job longer than 18 months, they've often been in comms positions for things that failed. And seeing how badly they perform in their current comms roles, you have to wonder who is making these hiring decisions.

The current govt caucus

5/ is incompetent and dishonest - that's been proven repeatedly over the past year. I had assumed that the Ministers were the reason the comms people were doing such a bad job.

That's why I started looking at their profiles online. That's when I realized they were chosen either

6/ for or despite their underwhelming histories.

With those backgrounds, when someone offers an overpaid position with a low bar in terms of expectations (Racist? No problem! Illiterate in stats? No problem! No clue about AB history? No problem! Willing to lie? Great!), some

7/ people will do anything to keep that job.
So we have this spiraling mediocrity.

Albertans need better trained comms people in these positions. So does @Alberta_UCP, frankly. They're losing support - and in some cases, they wouldn't be if their comms were better.

Now, some

8/ might argue that only ethics-challenged people would work for the corrupt @UCPCaucus.

I disagree. A true communications professional understands that their personal politics aren't part of the job - they would bring their professional standards and ethics to bear. The

9/ messaging would be better measured, more trustworthy. And if the govt listened to actual comms pros, there'd be a healthier discourse all round.

Within view of the Legislature we have both MacEwan University (with an excellent BCS) and UofA. They're not hotbeds of leftist

10/ ideology. They currently produce thoughtful, competent communications professionals capable of helping people with clear messaging. More importantly, they understand that the best crisis communication strategy is the one that foresees and forestalls the crisis. And because

11/ they are comms pros and not PoliSci wannabe operatives, they will bring their professional integrity to the job.

Because even policy they might disagree with needs to be given the best, fairest treatment. We don't get that from the current incompetents in the Press Secretary

12/ and Issues Manager roles.

Try it. Hire professionals. See what a difference it makes.

At the very least, do a rigorous performance review of your currently failing staff and send them for better training.

We're paying for them and we deserve better value.

#abpoli #ableg

13/ Disclaimer: Yes, I have in the past been contracted by AB govts for communication services under PCAA. I have neither sought nor been denied those contracts under NDP or UCP.

I have had contracts from 4 universities related to comms disciplines.

14/ And while UCP comms people tell me there's nothing wrong with their succession of short term positions, that really isn't the norm for good comms professionals. That's the difference between 10 months and 10+ years.

15/ And, yes, one of my degrees included a PoliSci major, but it was the other disciplines that focused on communications.