I have no idea how many MLA's are going to lose their jobs Tuesday night but I suspect it will be more than a few. And while there is no solace in unemployment there are a few tips I'd like to share about the art of the successful firing.
1) It isn't about you personally but you ran on party banner and in some way you did contribute to the situation that led to the firing. You are personally responsible for your own results.
2) Don't be an ass, if you lose, do it with grace and accept the result of the electorate. Don't go on a Facebook rant or social media frenzy about how bad the new guy will be, what you say about them in those critical hours of May 5th will haunt you for a long time to come.
3) Decompress, let your team do their job and get all your lawn signs picked up by Saturday.
4) If you were elected prior to 2012, you get a hefty transition allowance so your financial landing will be soft.
5) Your constituency manager does not get a transition allowance so don't bitch too loud. That person put up with a lot of crap, worked a lot of unpaid hours and deserves your thanks.
6) Being a former MLA is a nice thing in the private sector, but it's not a qualification for anything.
7) Consulting gigs are rare and hard to come by, the value your influence or experience is higher in your mind than in the anyone else's.
8) Your phone will go silent, you will get a consolation call or two, but otherwise no one really wants to talk to the former MLA. You will discover that people called you when you were MLA to get something, now that you are not an MLA the only people who will call are those who called you before you got elected.
9) Pick carefully the memento's you keep, don't let this losing spoil what was, until this election, a great experience.
10) Don't blame the voters.
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