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Alberta Politics

alberta election candidate update: january 2012.

The list of candidates nominated to stand in the next provincial general election continues to grow.

Nominated Alberta Election Candidates by Region January 3 2012
Nominated Alberta Election Candidates by Region (January 3, 2012)

Here are some of the updates that I have recently made to the list:

Banff-Cochrane: Nominated Wildrose Party candidate Trudy Heuser has stepped down as her party’s candidate, citing personal reasons. The former school trustee was criticized after her nominated by local Wildrose members who called the process unfair. Canmore businessman John Fitzsimmons and Cochrane Mayor Truper McBride have entered the Progressive Conservative nomination contest to replace retiring MLA Janis Tarchuk. The nomination meeting is scheduled for January 28, 2012.

Lloyd Bertschi Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock PC nomination candidate
Morinville Mayor Lloyd Bertschi

Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock: Tim Schultz, Maureen Kubinec, Lloyd Bertschi, and Bert Seatter are the second, third, and fourth candidates to enter the PC nomination contest to replace retiring ten term MLA Ken Kowalski. Mr. Shultz is the former executive assistant to Deputy Premier Doug Horner. Ms. Kubinec is Deputy Reeve of Westlock County and the former President of the Alberta School Boards Association. Mr. Bertschi is the Mayor of Morinville and the former President of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. Mr. Seatter is a member of Westlock County Council. The first candidate to enter the contest was Westlock Town Councillor David Truckey. The nomination meeting is scheduled for January 28, 2012.

Bonnyville-Cold Lake: Past federal Liberal candidate Rob Fox has expressed interest in the Liberal Party nomination in this northeast Alberta constituency. Mr. Fox placed third with 6.1% of the vote in the May 2011 federal vote.

Calgary-East: Liberal Party activist Michelle Robinson is seeking her party’s nomination.

Calgary-Hawkwood: Local radio personality Kumar Sharma is seeking the PC nomination.

Ken Hughes Alberta Calgary-West
Former AHS Chairman Ken Hughes

Calgary-West: Recently resigned Alberta Health Services chairman Ken Hughes is seeking the PC nomination, which is being vacated by current Finance Minister Ron Liepert. Mr. Hughes served as Chairman of AHS since 2008 and was a PC Member of Parliament from 1988 until 1993. Also seeking the nomination is Calgary Police Service Sergeant Mike Ellis.

Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview: Prolific tweeter Don Martin has been acclaimed as the Wildrose Party candidate.

Edmonton-Calder: Alex Bosse is seeking the Liberal Party nomination in this north west Edmonton constituency. Mr. Bosse was previously seeking the nomination in St. Albert, but told this blogger that he was convinced by the party to run in Calder instead.

Edmonton-Ellerslie: Past City Council candidate Chinwe Okelu was acclaimed as the Alberta Party candidate in this southeast Edmonton constituency.

Edmonton-Gold Bar: Past City Council candidate Lori Jeffery-Heaney is challenging past Mayoral candidate David Dorward for the PC nomination. The nomination meeting is scheduled for January 25, 2012.

Fort McMurray Conklin: Catholic School Trustee Keith McGrath is considering seeking the Wildrose nomination. UPDATE: Mr. McGrath has withdrawn his name from the Wildrose contest.

Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo: Public School Board Trustee Jeff Thompson is seeking the PC nomination. The constituency is currently represented by Wildrose MLA Guy Boutilier. The nomination meeting is scheduled for January 28, 2012.

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville: Chris Fulmer is the nominated NDP candidate.

Grande Prairie-Smoky: Todd Loewen was nominated as the Wildrose canddiate, defeating Duane Stevenson and Bret McNally.

Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills: Lac La Biche County Councillor John Nowak was nominated as the Liberal candidate.

Rob Renner MLA is retiring
MLA Rob Renner is retiring.

Medicine Hat: After 18 years as a PC MLA and cabinet minister, Rob Renner has announced that he will not seek re-election. Mr. Renner was first elected in 1993, defeating Liberal candidate and future Mayor Garth Vallely by 151 votes. He was re-elected in 2008 by a margin of 1,763 votes.

Sherwood Park: Strathcona PC President Sue Timanson is seeking the PC nomination in the neighbouring Sherwood Park constituency. Also seeking the nomination are PC Party activist Matthew Bissett, former Strathcona County Mayor Cathy Olesen, and current County Councillor Brian Botterill.

St. Albert: Morinville Vice-Principal Sleight Anstruther is the fifth candidate to join the PC nomination contest in this constituency. The nomination meeting is scheduled for January 31, 2012.

With a General Election expected to be held in the next few months, the PCs have scheduled nomination meetings in Airdrie, Calgary-Currie, Calgary-Fish Creek, Calgary-GlenmoreCalgary-Mackay-Nose Hill, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-McCall, Calgary-VarsityEdmonton-Meadowlark, Edmonton-Riverview, Edmonton-South West, Highwood, Lethbridge-East, and Vermilion-Lloydminster.

I will post updates from these constituencies when I receive them. Please email david.cournoyer@gmail.com if you have updates that you would like to share.

 

12 replies on “alberta election candidate update: january 2012.”

I see Glenn Taylor finally stepped down in Hinton last night. From Postmedia “He said in a statement that besides the need to prepare for the provincial vote, he was also motivated by the fact that Hinton was already required to hold a byelection by the end of February because of the recent resignation of a town councillor.

“I believe that it is in our community’s best interest, both from a fiscally prudent perspective and one of transparency — as well as being a matter of personal integrity — that I tender my resignation,” he said in a Wednesday news release.

Why wasn’t it a matter of transparency and personal integrity, not to mention in the interest of a community that desreved a full-time Mayor, for him to do this last May? What a load of transparently self-serving bullshit. AP…DOA (or did they ever really arrive?).

@Bob

Can Calgary voters look forward to seeing fine NDP candidates from Edmonton at their doors again this spring?

To @Bob: “…a community that deserved a full-time Mayor…”. Is the office of Mayor of the Town of Hinton a full-time post? Many smaller municipalities’ councillors, reeves and mayors are only part-time, and those that are not retired also hold down other jobs (or operate their businesses or farms). So the criticism that Hinton’s Mayor also held the post of AP Leader is a bit unfair. It’s not like he is mayor of Calgary or anything.

@jerrymacgp – thanks for correcting my misspelling of deserved when you quoted me. I do think that the people of Hinton have a right to expect that the person they elected to be Mayor focus his energies on doing the job, rather than building a fringe party, whether or not being Mayor is a full-time job. The Mayor was paid $48,000+ in 2010 (the last year for which I could find a record), which seems very fair for what is probably a part-time job. I guess I am just a dumbass for not understanding why it’s fiscally prudent, transparent and a matter of personal integrity now, and not a year ago.

@Casual Observer – I have no idea wht you are on about…

@Bob: “…why it’s fiscally prudent, transparent and a matter of personal integrity now, and not a year ago.”

I’ll take a stab at explaining what he meant:

Because there were aspects of the 15 year capital plan that he put into place as mayor left to be finalized, because he was elected fairly recently in 2010 and wanted to make sure that he could finish off and accomplish what he had started so far in his term, and because the community was content with him serving in both roles because it meant he could continue as mayor; he was a rather popular mayor. And it was fiscally prudent because it means they don’t have to hold two byelections, just one.

@Brandon – Thanks. Did Mr. Taylor know that the other Councillor was going to resign on December 20, 2011 back when he won the AP leadership (May 28)? Seems unlikely, so the argument for fiscal prudence is clearly window dressing. As to whether the “community was content” and he “was a rather popular Mayor,” that’s conjecture on your part, plain and simple. It’s not like anyone is taking opinion polls in Hinton and a lot can change in fifteen months. Maybe he’s just a selfless servant of the people and if so, good on him. For me, the jury is out.

Thanks, Bob. I have added Nicole Martel to the list as seeking the PC nomination in Edmonton-Centre. New additions after I published this post include Mike Allen seeking the PC nomination in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo and Bev Esslinger and Steve Young seeking the PC nomination in Edmonton-Riverview.

So… there is a rumor that Craig Cheffins will return to seek the liberal nod in Calgary-Glenmore, can anyone else confirm this?

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