Accountant and recent Mayoral candidate David Dorward is expected to announce this morning that he will seek the Progressive Conservative nomination in Edmonton-Gold Bar, according to a reliable source.
As the PC candidate in the 2008 election, Mr. Dorward placed a strong second to MLA Hugh MacDonald in this long-held Liberal constituency (the Liberals have held Gold Bar since 1986). In the 2010 municipal election, Mr. Dorward was a strong advocate for the preservation of the City Centre Airport and placed second to Mayor Stephen Mandel in the vote.
With Mr. MacDonald announcing that he will not seek re-election, many political watchers are expecting that this constituency could be a tight contest in the next election expected in Spring 2012. Liberals Josipa Petrunic and Christian Villeneuve will face off at their party’s nomination meeting on December 5. Read more about Ms. Petrunic here.
The NDP have nominated Marlin Schmidt and the Wildrose Party recently nominated Linda Carlson.
UPDATE: Here is a link to the media release that Mr. Dorward’s campaign team sent out this morning officially announcing his candidacy.
10 replies on “david dorward to seek progressive conservative nomination in edmonton-gold bar.”
Surprised Dorward isn’t running for Wildruse after the bombastic rhetoric of the airport campaign.
This is yet more bad news for the Wildrose party.
Dorward running again is not surprising but is a very welcome additon to the PC team. Strong, smart candidate with deep ties in the community.
Macdonald consistently performed above his own party – without him, the Liberals will be in real tough to keep this riding.
Looking forward to watching this contest. I think it’s very unpredictable which way it will go.
It is also important to note that the electoral boundary changes that will occur when the next provincial election is held may dramatically affect the outcome in Gold Bar.
Here are the results from the 2008 election under the current boundaries:
Hugh MacDonald, L – 6,279
David Dorward, PC – 5,261
Sherry McKibben, NDP – 1,923
David Zylstra, Grn – 525
Here are the results from the 2008 election under the new boundaries (which will take in new polls from Edmonton-Mill Creek and Edmonton-Strathcona, and lose some polls to Edmonton-Highlands)
Hugh MacDonald, L – 6,825
David Dorward, PC – 6,817
Sherry McKibben, NDP – 2,618
David Zylstra, Grn – 700
I first met Dorward before he was running for anything – based on that meeting, I will now work for anybody running against him, in the nomination or the election!
Dorward sure seems to fit the negative stereotype of the modern politician. That being a mostly self serving individual whose positions will sway as needed. I mean, how else can it make sense that the “save the airport” mayoral candidate is now running to be an MLA for the provincial party that has largely allowed the City to proceed with said airport closure?
Given that information Dave posted about the riding changes, I definitely expect to see Dorward (or the eventual PC candidate) win handily. The Liberals and NDP will probably have a close finish for 2nd and 3rd… who gets the 2nd place crown will depend. On the one hand, a former Liberal stronghold. On the other, falling provincial #s for all Libs and the NDP surging (relative to their usual strength).
I give the PC government credit for staying out of the airport debate as is a local issue. On this issue we once again see the true clouds of the Wildrose.
The fact that a PC candidate in the last election is running for them again this election is bad news for Wildrose… how?
Looks like we have a better choice – Lori Jeffery Heaney has been out and about and will provide us with some great leadership for our community