The Enlightened Savage: About The Enlightened Savage

Joey Oberhoffner is The Enlightened Savage.

About Joey O:

Joey is a 40 year-old, life-long Albertan with one foot in each of the private and public sectors.

At age 8, his family moved from Edmonton to Calgary, a move which (at the time) seemed like the end of the world for the young Oilers and Eskimos fan. He got over the shock, but still suffers along with the Oilers and Eskimos every season (especially lately!). Having no previous WHL loyalties, Joey is delighted to be an ardent supporter of the Calgary Hitmen, however, and attends games whenever he can.

A graduate of St. Boniface Elementary, St. Bonaventure Jr. High and Bishop Grandin High School, in 1996 Joey founded a small music studio named "Dulcet Melodies", specializing in vocal lessons. He has volunteered with the Bishop Grandin Choral Department for 20 years as a vocal coach and chaperone.

He is a self-confessed political junkie/policy wonk. A resident of the “centre-right” on the political spectrum, Joey was an active member of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta for many years, running for the party’s nomination in his home riding in 2012 and later serving for several years as a Regional Director on the PCAA Provincial Board. Asked if his involvement in partisan politics would colour the way in which he covered provincial politics on his blog, Joey once replied "Only in that I'm going to be harder on my own party when they deserve it, because I know that they should know better.".

About The Enlightened Savage:

In response to the PC Leadership election in late 2006 and the lack of coverage in the traditional media about this important race, Joey began blogging under the nom de plume of "The Enlightened Savage", and rapidly became well-known under this name as an even-handed analyst of municipal and provincial political issues. In addition to radio appearances on CJSW and AM770 CHQR, he has been quoted in print and on television, offered in-studio commentary on CBC Radio One for Municipal Election Night 2007 and again as a regular panel member for the 2010 Municipal Election, and appeared in-studio on CityTV to provide analysis of the results on Provincial Election Night 2008. Joey is a founding member of CalgaryPolitics.com.

Joey O hopes to use this blog to raise the level of debate around important issues of the day: To talk less about who has power, who wants power, and how they're going to keep it/get it, and to talk more about the issues that matter to every day Calgarians and Albertans, and how we can make Alberta even better than it is today. This is a goal he hopes to achieve with readers and comments from ALL political perspectives - after all, as a music teacher himself, Joey knows that harmony can only come when there is more than one voice, singing more than one tune (something our current politicians, from all parties, sometimes forget).

Joey Tweets as @oberhoffner

http://www.enlightenedsavage.com/

Who Is The Enlightened Savage?

The Enlightened Savage (Joey Oberhoffner) is a 40 year-old, life-long Albertan with one foot in each of the private (small business owner) and public (provincial public service) sectors. He is a self-confessed political junkie/policy wonk, with a sometimes disturbing affinity for Montreal Smoked Meat, gadgets, and well-written television.

Joey began blogging in late 2006 under the nom de plume of "The Enlightened Savage", and rapidly became well-known as an even-handed analyst of municipal and provincial political issues. He offered in-studio commentary on CBC Radio One for Municipal Election Night 2007, did analysis for the 2010 Municipal Election and the 2011 Federal Election, and appeared in-studio on CityTV for analysis of the results on Provincial Election Night 2008.

Joey also writes at and is a founding contributor for CalgaryPolitics.com.

Hate-mail, love letters, and offers of support for his campaign to change politics for the better can be sent to amishbuggyracing (at) gmail (dot) com.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author himself, and are not meant in any way to reflect the opinions of any organization for which he either works or volunteers.

Joey O's Policy Points

"This guy is obviously a raging leftist - how can he possibly call himself a conservative?"

THIS is how. Because the public policies I advocate for are conservative - and I don't have to support your chosen right-wing politician or pet issue to be allowed to use the name "conservative".

- Fixed Provincial Election Dates (I'm leaning towards the second Monday of May, every 4 years. Would VERY rarely come into contact with a late Easter, otherwise it's smooth sailing...)

- Full Disclosure of Donors and their Contribution amounts at all levels of elected office, including internal party races, BEFORE the votes are cast - we deserve to know who's funding the war chests of our would-be leaders. And none of this "numbered corporation" crap either.

- A fully funded and independent Auditor General

- Economic diversification. Even a five-year old knows it's a bad idea to carry all your eggs in one basket.

- Making Alberta's Oilsands the standard bearer for environmental sensitivity while also making them the most sought-after business opportunity for large and mid-size operators in North America.

- Getting our energy products to market and getting a global price for them by working with our neighbours, rather than throwing tantrums and accomplishing nothing.

- Promotion of eco-tourism as a way to showcase the unique character of Alberta's landscape and people and boosting local economies.

- Capping government program spending increases from year to year at the rate of inflation plus population growth.

- Making the MLA "Tax-Free Allowance" just that - an allowance. Anything that isn't spent on expenses related to their work (e.g. rent in Edmonton, vehicular or transportation costs, hospitality) should be returned to the provincial treasury, or taxed as income.

- More recorded votes and fewer in camera sessions at all levels of government. The work of our governments should be public and indexable unless there is a clear reason why it shouldn't be.

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About The Enlightened Savage