Let's finish my series of relatively brief NDP leadership candidate evaluations with a look at Niki Ashton.
1. What direction will she set for the NDP?
There's plenty to like about Ashton's central themes of pursuing equality, engaging younger Canadians and non-voters and mounting a direct challenge to the Cons in the West: if anything, the "new politics" mantra she's repeated throughout the leadership campaign may undersell the significance of those plans. And Ashton can also point to a few of the campaign's more noteworthy policy proposals amidst a generally strong (if slightly inconsistent) platform.
2. How will she respond when pushed off course?
But the perception that Ashton has ranked below the top tier of candidates has kept her from being tested in the same way that the five main contenders have all had to answer pointed questions from each other. Which means that it's been difficult to add much to the information we already have on this point - which does include a noteworthy stand to vote according to her promise to constituents on a previous incarnation of gun registry legislation.
3. How do her personal traits affect her ability to reach the destination implied by the answer to question 1?
Ashton has been fairly effective in the debates and other public appearances throughout the campaign, and there's at least a reasonable prospect she could extend her appeal to the general public (particularly the groups she's targeted in her leadership campaign). But other than an unexpectedly strong performance in the first debate back in December she hasn't stood out within the field.
Conclusion
In retrospect, it's a shame that Ashton hasn't received more of an opportunity to show how she could compare and compete against the perceived upper-tier candidates - and she'd rank ahead of at least a couple of them if I were assembling a ballot today. But I can't go much further than that without more direct evidence as to how Ashton would handle the pressures of the leadership, and it doesn't look like there's time for that in advance of this month's vote.
To my mind, the simple fact that she hasn't come up with some way to get that opportunity says something. She knew going in that she was going to be overlooked somewhat due to youth; if she had nothing in her arsenal to overcome that handicap, no way of pulling in the public's attention, then she's effectively failed at one of the prime jobs of a politician. I think she'd make a fine cabinet minister (actually, pretty much all the candidates would), but not, at this point anyway, a leader to win a general election. Kind of like Saganash that way . . . Saganash had a similar handicap of not being quite seen as a "top tier" contender, but he had a dramatic story and a personal outlook that could differentiate him from the others. He didn't get across to enough people just how that dramatic story and different outlook would make him the leader the NDP needed. And as with Saganash, I think a lot of people like and respect Ashton even if they don't see her as the person they want as the leader right now.
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