Koch will chill on farm as she contemplates her next step in life
Alanna Koch says she plans to spend the summer and fall with her family on their farm near Regina before making any concrete decisions about her future, after officially leaving government last week.
In her first interview since losing the Saskatchewan Party leadership race to Premier Scott Moe, the former top civil servant said she isn’t ruling anything out — including a future run for political office.
“I do know that I’m going to get back engaged in the agriculture industry — clearly that’s my strength, and one of the things I’m really passionate about,” said Koch, who did not provide any specifics.
During the campaign, Koch mused about only wanting to run in her home constituency — Indian Head–Milestone — to avoid being an “absentee MLA.” On Friday, she said others have urged her to run but she is keeping her options open.
Koch was appointed deputy minister to then-premier Brad Wall — the province’s top civil servant — just over two years ago. She went on a paid leave of absence in August 2017, after announcing her Sask. Party leadership bid.
While Koch was regarded as many party insiders’ preferred candidate, and a serious contender despite her low profile outside political and agricultural circles, she lost to Moe on the fifth ballot at the Jan. 27 leadership convention.
“Obviously, I would have liked to have seen a different result, because I was very, very keen on taking on that next challenge as the premier. But I absolutely thought the experience was tremendous,” she said.
Asked what she could have done differently, Koch said she would not have changed anything about her campaign but suggested launching her campaign earlier might have made a difference in the final result.
“I wasn’t perfect but I thought I answered a lot of questions and concerns pretty effectively. I wouldn’t have done anything specifically different during the campaign, but maybe got started a little earlier.”
Koch used banked vacation days between the end of the leadership race and April 6, at which point she began drawing her $267,948 annual salary, ultimately receiving $38,000, Moe told reporters last month.
That changed on June 1, when an order-in-council passed by cabinet two days earlier came into effect, cancelling her appointment as deputy minister to the premier and ending her years-long tenure as a government employee.
Moe said on May 31 that while there were “discussions” about opportunities for Koch to stay in government, a severance package was being negotiated and any money she received since Jan. 27 would be part of it.
How much money Koch will receive remains unclear. Government spokesman Jim Billington, in an email on Friday afternoon, said her severance is still being finalized by the government.
“Whatever I’ve been paid is going to be part of my severance arrangements. The severance will be viewed as whatever is standard, so I’m not looking to get anything more than what would be standard,” Koch said.
Since the leadership race, the civil service has been helmed on an interim basis by Kent Campbell, a 21-year government veteran who has previously held several deputy minister posts.