Tag: Mara Nesbitt

Nomination Updates: Brooks-Medicine Hat by-election, UCP and NDP open more races, Greens name 15 new candidates

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date October 18, 2022
No Comments on Nomination Updates: Brooks-Medicine Hat by-election, UCP and NDP open more races, Greens name 15 new candidates

Brooks-Medicine Hat by-election Gwendoline Dirk Barry Morishita Danielle Smith — Gwendoline Dirk, Barry Morishita, Danielle Smith

There is no such thing as a boring week in Alberta politics and this past week was no exception. But while we are all trying to pay attention to what the new Premier said then and is saying now, it would be easy to let all the fun candidate nomination news that I enjoy writing about just sail by. I couldn’t possibly let that happen, because there are a lot of updates.

I’ll start with the by-election in Brooks-Medicine Hat.

Brooks-Medicine Hat by-election

A November 8 by-election has been called in Brooks-Medicine Hat and Premier Danielle Smith is running as the United Conservative Party candidate. She will face Alberta NDP candidate and retired teacher Gwendoline Dirk and Brooks mayor-turned-Alberta Party leader Barry Morishita.

Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips was on hand to help Dirk’s kick off her campaign this week. Dirks is a retired high school teacher and Medicine Hat College instructor. She ran for a seat on the Medicine Hat Public School Board in 2021 and is a member of the Medicine Hat Police Commission. Her partner Peter Mueller was the NDP candidate in the neighbouring Cypress-Medicine Hat riding in the 2019 election.

This is Morishita’s first time running in an election as the leader of the Alberta Party but he is a veteran of elections in the City of Brooks. He served on Brooks City Council from 1998 to 2003 and 2010 to 2016, and was Mayor from 2019 until 2021.

This is not Morishita’s first time running in a provincial election. In 2001, he ran for the Liberals against Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Lyle Oberg, earning 15.5 per cent of the vote.

Former Newell County Councillor Mara Nesbitt, who had previously announced her plans to run for the nomination, has withdrawn and is supporting Smith’s candidacy.

The deadline for candidates to enter the nomination is October 21 and it’s looking like it won’t be a crowded race.

Buffalo Party leader John Holberg and party president Raman Bains announced that the recently formed right-wing party would not put forward a candidate to run in the by-election. “We wish the Premier the best of luck in the Brooks-Medicine Hat by election,” the statement declared.

Also out is the Liberal Party. Interim leader John Roggeveen told the Medicine Hat News that the party will not be running a candidate in the by-election. And Wildrose Independence Party leader Paul Hinman, who was once an MLA for a large southern rural Alberta riding, is busy being embroiled in legal action to take back control of the party.

Independence Party of Alberta leader and Calgary street preacher Artur Pawlowski is hosting information sessions on Oct 17 in Medicine Hat on Oct. 17 and Brooks on Oct. 19 but the party hasn’t publicly named a candidate. UPDATE: Bob Blayone has been named as the Independence Party candidate.

Now to other candidate nomination news from across Alberta:

Alberta NDP

Two-term MLA David Shepherd was nominated as the NDP candidate Edmonton-City Centre. Shepard was first elected in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019 with 66 per cent of the vote.
Dawn Flaata was nominated as the NDP candidate in Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright at an October 15 meeting. Flaata is a local author with a long history of involvement in the chamber of commerce in Vermilion and was a Constituency Assistant to former Conservative MP Leon Benoit.
Communications consultant Amanda Chapman defeated firefighter Jason Curry to secure the NDP nomination in Calgary-Beddington.
Liana Paiva running for the NDP nomination in Peace River with a nomination meeting scheduled for Friday, October 28, 2022.
Lawyer Denis Ram is running for NDP nomination in Calgary-Peigan at a November 8 nomination meeting. Ram placed second in the NDP nomination in Calgary-Cross in July 2022.

United Conservative Party

Jon Horsman is the second candidate to declare plans to run for the UCP nomination in Calgary-Elbow. Horsman is a former bank vice-president and briefly was a candidate for the leadership of the UCP. Lawyer Andrea James announced her candidacy in June 2022.
Adele Poratto is running for the UCP nomination in Red Deer-South. Poratto ran for the nomination in 2018 and for the PC Party nomination in the riding ahead of the 2008 election. Ran for the nomination in 2018
Brazeau County Councillor Kara Westerlund is the third candidate to enter the UCP nomination contest in Drayton Valley-Devon. Westerlund has served on county council since 2010 and is a Vice President of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta. She joins Carol Vowk and Andrew Boitchenko.
It looks like Premier Smith has ceded the UCP nomination in Livingstone-Macleod to incumbent MLA Roger Reid. Reid had been running against Smith for the nomination in her home riding while she was running for the party leadership and he now says he plans to continue to run for the UCP nomination for the next election.
The UCP has opened up nominations in Drayton Valley-Devon, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, Livingstone-Macleod, St. Albert and Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright.

Green Party of Alberta

The Green Party of Alberta has nominated 15 candidates, including party leader Jordan Wilkie, who will now run in Edmonton-Rutherford instead of Banff-Kananaskis as he previously announced. Here is the full list of nominated Green Party candidates:

Calgary-Buffalo: Heather Morigeau
Calgary-Currie: Jonathan Parks
Calgary-East: Jayden Baldonado
Calgary-Edgemont: Brandy Kinkead
Calgary-Hays: Evelyn Tanaka
Calgary-Peigan: Shaun Pulsifer
Cypress-Medicine Hat: Dustin Cartwright
Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview: Michael Hunter
Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood: Kristine Kowalchuk
Edmonton-North West: Tyler Beaulac
Edmonton-Rutherford: Jordan Wilkie
Edmonton-South West: Jeff Cullihall
Edmonton-Strtahcona: Robert Gooding-Townsend
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills: Daniel Brisbin
Sherwood Park: Lucas Bevin

Upcoming nomination meetings

October 19 – Lacombe-Ponoka NDP
October 20 – Calgary-Fish Creek NDP
October 26 – Calgary-Hays NDP
October 26 – Edmonton-City Centre Green
October 28 – Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul NDP
October 28 – Peace River NDP
November 8 – Calgary-Peigan NDP
November 8 – Calgary-South East NDP

The tally

The NDP have now nominated candidates in 58 of Alberta’s 87 electoral districts. As previously noted, it appears as though the UCP have paused the nomination process until after their new leader is selected on October 6. The Green Party has 15 candidates nominated and the Alberta Party has named three candidates.

See the full list of nomination candidates here.

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Read my latest column about the challenges facing Premier Danielle Smith in the short 7-months ahead of the next election.

Tags Adele Poratto, Alberta Election 2023, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta Party, Amanda Chapman, Andrea James, Andrew Boitchenko, Artur Pawlowski, Banff-Kananaskis, Barry Morishita, Bob Blayone, Brandy Kinkead, Brooks-Medicine Hat, Brooks-Medicine Hat by-election, Buffalo Party of Alberta, Calgary-Beddington, Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Cross, Calgary-Currie, Calgary-East, Calgary-Edgemont, Calgary-Elbow, Calgary-Hays, Calgary-Peigan, Carol Vowk, Cypress-Medicine Hat, Daniel Brisbin Sherwood Park, Danielle Smith, David Shepherd, Dawn Flaata, Denis Ram, Drayton Valley-Devon, Dustin Cartwright, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview, Edmonton-City Centre, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Edmonton-North West, Edmonton-Rutherford, Edmonton-South West, Edmonton-Strtahcona, Evelyn Tanaka, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, Green Party of Alberta, Gwendoline Dirk, Heather Morigeau, Independence Party of Alberta, Jason Curry, Jayden Baldonado, Jeff Cullihall, John Holberg, John Roggeveen, Jon Horsman, Jonathan Parks, Jordan Wilkie, Kara Westerlund, Kristine Kowalchuk, Lethbridge-West, Livngstone-Macleod, Lucas Bevin, Lyle Oberg, Mara Nesbitt, Michael Hunter, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, Paul Hinman, Peter Mueller, Raman Bains, Red Deer-South, Robert Gooding-Townsend, Roger Reid, Shannon Phillips, Shaun Pulsifer, St. Albert, Tyler Beaulac, United Conservative Party, Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright, Wildrose Independence Party

Alberta Politics

Chantal Saramaga-McKenzie wins NDP nomination in Spruce Grove-Stony Plain, UCP MLA Michaela Frey not running for re-election in Brooks-Medicine Hat

Former Spruce Grove city councillor Chantal Saramaga-McKenzie defeated former Parkland County mayor Rod Shaigec to secure the NDP nomination in Spruce Grove-Stony Plain.

“My parents still live here in the same house they bought in 1969. This community is in my DNA, and I will ensure it has a strong voice in the legislature,” Saramaga-McKenzie said in a statement. “I will work to ensure this community will have access to quality healthcare, long-term job growth and opportunities for our children, housing for all – especially our seniors, and to tackle the affordability crisis head on. I am ready to get to work.”

Saramaga-McKenzie is an engineer and business owner and served on city council from 2017 to 2021.

The riding is currently represented by United Conservative Party MLA Searle Turton, who is also a former Spruce Grove city councillor. He currently serves as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Energy and as the private sector union liaison for the Ministry of Labour and Immigration. He is nominated to run in the next election.

Michaela Frey not running for re-election

Brooks-Medicine Hat UCP MLA Michaela Frey announced that she will not seek re-election after serving one term in the Legislature. “I’ll continue to serve until an election is called, but my motivation is that ultimately there are some things in life that are too precious – having kids is one of them,” Frey, 29, told the Medicine Hat News. “I want to focus on that … I want to be at home in Medicine Hat to do that.”

Former Newell County councillor Mara Nesbitt has already announced her plans to seek the UCP nomination. The NDP have nominated retired teacher Gwendoline Dirk. And Alberta Party leader and former Brooks mayor Barry Morishita is hoping he can reclaim a seat in the Legislature as the candidate in this riding.

Four running for NDP nomination in Sherwood Park

Four candidates are running for the NDP nomination in Sherwood Park. Strathcona County Councillor Katie Berghofer, renewable energy entrepreneur Kyle Kasawski, teacher Jeff Manchak , and former MLA Annie McKitrick will be on the ballot at a nomination vote on September 28.

The NDP have now nominated candidates in 50 of Alberta’s 87 electoral districts. The United Conservative Party has 36 nominated candidates and the Alberta Party has three.

Tags Alberta Election 2023, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Annie McKitrick, Barry Morishita, Brooks-Medicine Hat, Chantal Saramaga-McKenzie, Gwendoline Dirk, Jeff Manchak, Katie Berghofer, Kyle Kasawski, Mara Nesbitt, Michaela Frey, Rod Shaigec, Searle Turton, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove-Stony Plain, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Lawyer Andrea James running for UCP nomination in Calgary-Elbow, former County Councillor Mara Nesbitt challenging MLA Michaela Frey in Brooks-Medicine Hat

Lawyer Andrea James is running for the United Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Elbow.

James holds law degrees from the University of Calgary, the University of Houston, and a master’s degree in Tax Law from the Osgoode School of Law at York University. She is a founder and principal of Jamesco LLP, a boutique corporate and tax law firm.

Current UCP MLA Doug Schweitzer has announced he will not seek re-election. The NDP nominated energy analyst Samir Kayande and the Alberta Party named lawyer Kerry Cundal as its candidate. Before Schweitzer’s election in 2019, the riding was represented by Alberta Party MLA Greg Clark.

Former County Councillor challenging MLA Michaela Frey in Brooks-Medicine Hat

Mara Nesbitt is planning to challenge MLA Michaela Frey for the UCP nomination in Brooks-Medicine Hat.

Nesbitt is a former County of Newell councillor, constituency assistant for a former MLA Lyle Oberg and is a member of the UCP board of directors in the southeast Alberta riding. Nesbitt was defeated by Arno Doerksen in a bid for the Progressive Conservative Party nomination in Strathmore-Brooks in 2008.

The NDP nominated retired teacher Gwendoline Dirk and the Alberta Party nominated its leader and former Brooks mayor Barry Morishita.

Prasad Panda nominated in Calgary-Egmont

Prasad Panda secured the UCP nomination in Calgary-Egmont. The newly appointed Transportation Minister first entered cabinet in 2019 and was first elected as a Wildrose MLA in the Calgary-Foothills by-election held after former premier Jim Prentice resigned on election night in 2015. He was re-elected in the redrawn Calgary-Egmont in 2019.

Panda previous ran as the Wildrose Party candidate in Calgary-Northern Hills in 2012 and 2015.

The NDP nominated Julia Hayter as its candidate.

Horsman and Sherman jump into UCP leadership race

There are two more candidates declaring their plans to enter the UCP leadership race: former Alberta Treasury Branches Vice President Jon Horsman and former PC MLA and Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman.

I am tracking candidates and building a list of people running for nominations to run in Alberta’s next provincial election. If you know of someone running, please post a comment below or email me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. Thank you!

(And I am launching a Substack this summer. Sign up at Daveberta Substack.)

Note: I’ll be taking a break over the next week and a but to enjoy the beginning of summer. Happy Canada Day and happy July. It was a long winter but we made it, folks!