I have updated the list of declared and nominated candidates hoping to stand in the next provincial election:
Lethbridge-West: Shannon Phillips is seeking the NDP nomination in this constituency. Ms. Phillips is a researcher and policy analyst for the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) and previously worked at the Alberta Legislative Assembly as the very talented Communications Director for the Alberta NDP Caucus. She has the endorsements of activists Naomi Klein, Melanee Thomas, AFL President Gil McGowan, and former Edmonton-Calder NDP MLA David Eggen.
While Lethbridge’s two constituencies have traditionally been a close fought battleground between the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals (voters in Lethbridge-East have elected Liberal MLAs since 1993, including former party leader Ken Nicol and current MLA Bridget Pastoor), the area has seen substantial growth for the NDP. In the May 2011 federal election, NDP candidate Mark Sandilands earned an unheard-of strong 27% of the vote, mostly concentrated within Lethbridge city limits. When the votes from the federal election are overlaid on the Lethbridge-West provincial boundaries, the NDP earned around 38% of the vote in the provincial constituency.
The constituency is currently represented by first-term MLA and Advanced Education & Technology Minister Greg Weadick.
Calgary-Buffalo: First-term MLA Kent Hehr has been acclaimed as the Liberal Party candidate. Mr. Hehr was elected in 2008 with 48% of the vote. The Wildrose have acclaimed former QR77 radio host Mike Blanchard as their candidate. Mr. Blanchard had originally sought his party’s nomination in the new constituency of Calgary-Nose Hill-Mackay, but was defeated by Roy Alexander.
Drayton Vally-Devon: Town of Drayton Valley Councillor Dean Shular has been acclaimed as the Wildrose candidate in his constituency. Mr. Shular was first elected to Town Council in 2007.
Drumheller-Stettler: A fifth candidate has joined the Wildrose nomination contest in this east central Alberta constituency. Drumheller Jeweler and Freemason Doug Wade in Drumheller-Stettler. As reported on this blog in July, Dave France, Rick Strankman, Chris Warwick, and Patrick Turnbull are also seeking the Wildrose nomination.
Edmonton-Meadowlark: Local Wildrose activist Rick Newcombe was acclaimed as the Wildrose candidate in this west Edmonton constituency. Mr. Newcombe had originally sought his party’s nomination in Edmonton-Whitemud, but stepped aside in favour of Ian Crawford. The area is currently represented by former Tory MLA Raj Sherman, who is currently a candidate for the Liberal Party leadership.
Rocky Mountain House-Sundre: He denied it on June 9, but on July 10 landowners rights advocate and Rimbey Town Councillor Joe Anglin submitted his papers to become a candidate for the Wildrose nomination in this constituency. The former Alberta Green Party leader is facing Rocky Mountain House Town Councillor Sheila Mizera and past-president of the local Wildorse Association Ed Wicks.
St. Albert: Tim Osborne is seeking the Alberta Party nomination in St. Albert. Mr. Osborne worked for the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region for seven years and recently started a new business, Civitas Consulting.
Sherwood Park: In his first step to become Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister Garnett Genuis has been acclaimed as the Wildrose candidate in Sherwood Park.
Sherwood Park-Strathcona: Two candidates have put their names forward for the Wildrose nomination in this constituency. Strathcona County Councillor Jason Gariepy and Paul Nemetchek. Councillor Gariepy made headlines last years when he was sanctioned after sending an email critical of a press release quoting local MLAs Iris Evans and Dave Quest. Mr. Nemetchek was campaign manager for former Reform Party MP Ken Epp.
West Yellowhead: Alberta Party leader Glenn Taylor has been officially nominated as his party’s candidate in the sprawling west Alberta constituency of West Yellowhead.
Mr. Taylor was first elected as the Mayor of the Town of Hinton in 2004 and ran as a candidate for the NDP in this constituency in 1997. I am told that Mr. Taylor will be leaving his position as Mayor this fall to focus full-time on the party’s leadership.
Calgary: The NDP are expected to hold a round of joint-nomination meetings for candidates in Calgary later this month.
13 replies on “alberta candidate nomination updates – august 2011.”
You forgot the Sherwood Park-Strathcona nominees for Wildrose Alliance. Jason Gariepy and Paul Nemetchek have both put their names forward. Voting this Tuesday.
Thanks, Carla. I’ve added Sherwood Park-Strathcona Wildrose candidates Jason Gariepy and Paul Nemetchek.
– Dave
Hi, Dave. Awesome work as always. You’re the only person keeping up on all this information.
For accuracy, I was never the President of Wildrose Edmonton-Meadowlark CA. Kim Harrold is our President and prior to that it was David Gray. I’ve held the VP Membership and Director at large.
FYI, I came back to my home riding where I’ve lived and worked for 27 years because of the changes in the local political scene. Specifically referring to the incumbent’s decision to go for the Liberal leadership. You may recall the WRP tried to convince Raj his best chance to make a difference and push his healthcare agenda would be in the party “most likely” to form the next Government or official opposition. It looks like he feels that will be the Liberals. Now I hope to push for the necessary changes as the next MLA for Edmonton-Meadowlark.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Rick. Fixed. Congrats on your nomination.
– Dave
Boy, that list of candidates is kind of depressing, at least from a progressive stance. Nothing like seeing what could be one decent centre-left party fractured into three different factions. If the Libs, NDP and AB Party were one entity, then they’d have enough quality candidates to field a really strong slate. As it is, there’s a few great people in each, a lot of dead weight, and no chance for any of them to come close to governing. Sad, sad, sad.
Hate to split hairs and keep correcting, but Jason Gariepy was sanctioned for abusing staff and THEN sending out an unauthorized email to 900 people (he said it was an accident and recalled it two hours later). This was covered in the independent review done by George Cuff.
The changes in the local political scene in Meadowlark are very welcome by most constituents. I live in Meadowlark and I have never heard of Mr Newcombe.
The incumbent’s decision to go for the Liberal leadership is the best decision for the constituents of Meadowlark.
The attempt by the WRAP to convince Raj that his best chance to make a difference in Meadowlark is feeble. The healthcare agenda of WRAP is contrary to the majority of the public (several health care facilities in the constituency) and I do not know of any progressive citizen, senior, or healthcare worker that favours the privatization of health care.
Remember that in Meadowlark, the average household income is somewhat below the Alberta average, and there’s a higher-than-average number of low-income residents at 13.6 per cent. Twenty-two per cent of people are new Canadians.
The alleged party “most likely” to form the next Government or official opposition is diving downward in the polls and is too extreme for the progressive communities of Meadowlark.
Raj feels that the party with the most potential in Meadowlark will be the Liberals and I agree with the MLA incumbent. Raj is doing ‘what is right for Meadowlark’ and will continue to push for the necessary changes in health care and for the ‘new Canadians’ as the continuing MLA for Edmonton-Meadowlark.
Good luck to Mr Newcombe. He will need it in the progressive riding of Meadowlark.
Glen Taylor is waiting a few months before leaving his position as mayor of Hinton? I guess he wants to take a town of Hinton vehicle into Edmonton a few more times to meet with Alberta Party officials before he goes.
There’s no way the WRA will form the next government or even the official opposition. Take a look at the polls – people have had enough of Smith and her extremist, out of touch policies.
Dave,
Great page for information! One update for you my Twitter account is wrp_mcleod.
Regards,
Kyle McLeod
I’ve often thought that with the right people on the ground, the NDP could become more competitive in areas like Lethbridge. It’s exciting to see someone like Shannon coming forward. Looking at her website, she seems to be off to a good start.
One thing is for sure: people have realized how extreme the Wildrose is, especially their leader. They will not get a single seat the next election. People reject this type of reactionary, angry politics.
Mr. Nemetchek was elected on August 16th to be the candidate for the Wildrose Alliance in the Sherwood Park Strathcona riding.