EDMONTON - Maureen Kubinec, a councillor from Westlock County, will replace veteran Speaker Ken Kowalski as the Progressive Conservative candidate in northern Alberta riding of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock, ending Kowalski’s 32 years of uninterrupted power.
The nomination is one of nearly a dozen PC candidate elections taking place across the province on “Super Saturday” as the ruling party prepares for a coming spring election.
“I’m confident we can build on what Ken Kowalski has done in this riding,” Kubinec said. “They are big shoes to fill.”
Kowalski, 66, was not present for the nomination, which took place at the Westlock Memorial Hall on Saturday afternoon. Roughly 40 Conservatives turned out to hear the results.
In other ridings, four candidates are competing for the nomination in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, where the winner will fight an election battle against Wildrose incumbent MLA Guy Boutilier.
Boutilier, who has held the seat since 1997, was a Conservative MLA until July 2009 when former premier Ed Stelmach ejected him from the party caucus for publicly criticizing the government.
He jumped to the Wildrose and will run for that party in the election.
The Grande Prairie-Smoky race will conclude Saturday as well, with three people hoping to replace former cabinet minister Mel Knight, who is retiring.
The remaining eight nominations are in southern Alberta, where school principal Christine Cusanelli clinched the vote in the wild-card riding of Calgary-Currie.
Cusanelli faced tough competition in the southwest Calgary riding — currently held by retiring Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor — including former alderman Jon Lord and party veteran Dale Galbraith.
“This is a huge celebration,” said Cusanelli, principal of St. Michael School. “I think this means we stand a chance in the election to have this constituency returned to the PC bedrock it once was.”
Elsewhere in the city, a two-way race in Calgary-Varsity resulted in a win for lawyer and businessman Donna Kennedy-Glans, who edged out Ph.D candidate Rhiannon MacDonnell. Liberal incumbent Harry Chase currently holds the riding but is resigning. Labour leader Bruce Payne will try to hold the seat for the Liberals.
Competition was also fierce in Calgary-Hawkwood, a new riding carved out of Calgary’s northwest.
Alderman Kelly Hegg was the successful nominee in Airdrie, besting former Airdrie mayor Linda Bruce and engineering firm director Mike Crawford. But he will face a tough election battle against incumbent Wildrose MLA Rob Anderson.
“I’m thrilled to be nominated,” Hegg said, adding Airdrie has always been a “PC constituency.”
To the south of the city, John Barlow, associate publisher of the Okotoks Western Wheel newspaper, was the successful nominee in Highwood. That’s the same constituency where Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith is running as a candidate
Former alderman Darren Hirsch took the vote for Medicine Hat, retiring Tory MLA Rob Renner’s riding, where nearly 400 voters turned out. Linda Rossler, retired school district superintendent, and Dan Hein, investment advisor and former campaign manager for Medicine Hat MP Lavar Payne, were also in the running.
“I understand it’s one step in the journey. So we’ll see where it goes from there,” Hirsch said.
Results for the Little Bow riding, currently held by retiring incumbent Tory MLA Barry McFarland, will likely be made available after 10 p.m.
When “Super Saturday” is complete, the PCs will have about 80 of their 87 candidates in place.
Alberta NDP provincial secretary Brian Stokes said Friday his party has 69 of its 87 candidates nominated, and expects to have a full slate by Feb. 13.
Liberal Party operations manager Corina Ganton said that party has 31 candidates in place and 24 in the nomination process.
No comments:
Post a Comment