It’s a race.
Former MLA Maria Fitzpatrick this morning announced her plans to run for the Alberta NDP nomination in Lethbridge-East, a district she represented from 2015 to 2019.
Fitzpatrick will face City Councillor Rob Miyashiro in the nomination contest. Miyashiro announced his candidacy last month.
Fitzpatrick was elected in 2015 with 47.4 per cent of the vote but was unable to repeat her win four years later. She was unseated in 2019, placing second with 38.7 per cent of the vote behind United Conservative Party candidate Nathan Neudorf in 2019.
She is not the only former NDP MLA hoping to secure a party nomination to run again in 2023.
Former MLA Brian Malkinson will face Janet Eremenko in a contested nomination in Calgary-Currie, a riding he represented from 2015 to 2019.
2 replies on “It’s a race. Former MLA Maria Fitzpatrick seeking Alberta NDP nomination in Lethbridge-East”
I expect we will see more NDP nomination contests, with higher quality candidates, as UCP stumbles increase the likelihood of a NDP victory. Incumbent Neudorf’s recent ramblings about needing more unvaccinated people to get Covid has to be providing even more motivation for people living in Lethbridge-East.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/nathan-neudorf-ucp-covid-alberta-1.6158872
In the past, non-conservative parties had trouble attracting quality candidates, especially for ridings that were considered unwinnable. It will be interesting to see if the UCP has the same difficulty as we approach 2023, especially if Jason Kenney is still the leader, or if he is replaced with someone from the no-restrictions side of the party.
A lot has been said about Jason Kenney and the UCP being at 30% in the polls, but I haven’t heard of any poll results in the last couple of months, since Jason Kenney took his holiday and the fourth wave hit us. I wonder if 30% might be a bit high now.
Bob Raynard: Just wait until October. There will be other polls, and the UCP’s popularity will slide even further down. The UCP have badly managed Alberta on numerous fronts, the economy, Covid-19, and anything else in between.