Re-elected Swann says Grits will be ‘feisty’
In a riding that’s become a red backbone in a traditionally conservative blue city, Liberal incumbent David Swann emerged the winner in a three-way jostle for Calgary-Mountain View.
With early numbers showing fewer Grits across the province returning to the legislature, Swann promised his party would remain a “feisty” voice representing Albertans.
“We’re going to be a smaller opposition, but we’ll be a feisty one. We’ll continue to fight for what I believe are traditional Alberta values,” Swann said.
In Calgary-mountain View, Conservative and Wildrose opponents wrangled hard for votes, but Swann said he’d gone into election night feeling “secure” his constituents recognized him as a strong leader for the community.
“I think most people who believe in what I’m trying to do in politics are right on side,” said Swann, a former provincial Liberal leader and, more recently, party health critic.
Health care remains a top issue in the constituency, said Swann, 62, along with child care and post-secondary issues for many of the riding’s younger residents.
The campaign was Progressive Conservative challenger Cecilia Low’s first experience running for office.
“Being involved in this particular election campaign in Alberta has been such a phenomenal experience, meeting people so engaged and talking about the issues,” Low said.
She said her background in engineering geophysics and the energy sector helped give her a good grasp on important Alberta issues during the campaign.
The riding last changed hands when Swann took it for the Liberals in 2004.
The constituency, which includes trendy Kensington and inner-city neighbourhoods such as Bridgeland and Hillhurst, has helped ensure a splotch of Grit red on Calgary’s centre city electoral map ever since.
Business owner Shane Mcallister, 42, is carrying the Wildrose banner in the riding.
The NDP candidate is child care worker and tutor Christopher Mcmillan, 25, while process engineer Inshan Mohammed, 27, is running for the Alberta Party.