a narrow 7–6 vote. Edmonton never sold the utility, and remains Epcor's sole shareholder. Taft published his second book with co-author Gillian Steward, Clear Answers: The Economics and Politics of For-Profit Medicine, in 2000. In it, they argue "There is overwhelming evidence that private health care hasn't worked elsewhere and won't work in Alberta", that private healthcare would increase costs and lengthen waiting lists, that privatization of healthcare is irreversible, and that it would allow American healthcare providers to compete with Alberta's public system. The book also argues that the provincial government had systematically starved the public health system in order to make private healthcare a tempting alternative to the public model. The book, like its predecessor, topped local bestseller lists and appeared on national bestseller lists. Career in politics In December 2000, Taft announced he would seek the Alberta Liberal Party nomination for the next provincial election, "citing his frustration with Tory policies in health care and power deregulation". He won the nomination for Edmonton-Riverview in January 2001. He was elected, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate and former city councillor Wendy Kinsella. Three years later, in the spring of 2004, Ken Nicol resigned as leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, and Taft was soon elected to replace him. Taft was generally given credit for his tenacity in the legislature. Despite leading a party saddled with a $900,000 debt, he helped his party more than double its seats in the election from 7 before the election call to 16. The Alberta Liberals regained seats in Edmonton, and made a breakthrough in the traditionally conservative city of Calgary. Taft also saw his support in Edmonton Riverview solidify; he received more votes than all other candidates, of any party, in the 2004 election. He published his third book, Democracy Derailed in 2007. It focussed on what he perceived as the broken state of Alberta's democracy. The book "provides plenty of examples of pettiness and arrogance" from Ralph Klein's government, and criticized the government's record on dealing with whistle blowers. Taft described the situation as "a widespread breakdown of accountability [... that's] become part of the political culture". Taft also suggested 35 ways to fix the problem. Democracy Derailed topped local bestseller lists. In the 2008 election, the Liberal Party won only nine seats in an election marked for its record low voter turnout. On June 26, 2008, Taft announced that he would step