The much anticipated Liberal convention kicks off this Friday in Ottawa, with the internal races for party positions drawing a lot more attention than usual.

If you’re losing sleep over who the next VP-French of the Liberal Party will be, Theresa Lubowitz offers an invaluable 61-page profile of all the candidates running for table officer positions. If you’re going to Ottawa and want a 2-minute overview, this post will likely suffice. If you don’t really have much time for boring Liberal Party contests, then it’s likely best to stop reading at this point.

My post on the presidential race will follow this evening – for now, a look at the candidates running for other positions. I’ve added a few endorsements, but I encourage delegates to read up on all the candidates, talk to them, and make their own decision. And of course, feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments section.

VP English: Phil Chisolm, Chris MacInnes, James Morton

VP French: Imran Ahmad, Brigitte Garceau, Pierre Lajeunesse

VP Policy: Braeden Caley, Maryanne Kampouris, Daniel Lovell, Zach Paikin, Paul Summerville

For better of worse, the VP Policy race has been drawing heaps of media attention, and it figures to be one of the most watched. I’ll be voting for Braeden Caley who, despite only being 24, has a decade of experience at virtually every level in the party.

In a contest like this, every candidate is going to promise to make the policy process meaningful, so you won’t find many stark differences in candidate platforms. What sets Braeden apart for me is his understanding of how the policy process, party, and caucus work, and his track record as a hard worker who will fight to bring relevance to the Liberal Party’s policy process.

VP Membership: Leanne Bourassa, Matthew Certosimo, Kyle Harrietha, Kim Rudd, Mitch St. Pierre

For me, Kyle Harrietha stands out in this field. Having been a Scarborough Liberal in good times and a Fort McMurray Liberal in tough times, he has a deep understanding of the range of challenges facing Liberal ridings. Most importantly, Kyle has released a more comprehensive platform than any candidate out there – including many of the presidential candidates. Hell, there’s likely more meat in it than Stephen Harper’s election platform this spring.

As Kyle is fond of saying, the Liberal Party has become good at identifying what’s wrong – what we need are solutions and people who will implement them. Having read his platform, I’m confident he has identified these solutions, and I’m confident he’ll work hard to implement them.