Bhullar bests Leech
With a commanding lead late Monday, Progressive Conservative incumbent Manmeet Bhullar credited his positive campaign for defeating controversial Wildrose party’s Ron Leech in the new riding of Calgary-greenway.
“Given the fact that someone ran a very negative campaign, I’m glad that positivity prevailed,” said Bhullar. “I said this in my first campaign and I’ll say it again: I entered politics to be a person that bridges people together.”
Calgary-greenway became a lightning rod for controversy after Leech claimed he had an advantage over his opponents, including Bhullar, because he is a Caucasian.
During the campaign, Leech, a retired pastor running in the multicultural riding, told a radio station he believed “as a Caucasian, I have an advantage.” He apologized for the remarks, saying he misspoke and only meant that he was not at a disadvantage. But the 65-year-old also garnered controversy for his views on homosexuality and abortion and was held up as an example of his party’s sharp right-wing views on social issues.
Leech’s campaign manager, Ali Waissi, said h e woul d probably have no comment until Tuesday morning.
When asked if he thought Leech’s comments had an impact on the vote, Bhullar would only say he is focusing on the future.
“Mr. Leech lives in the past, we’ll let him stay in the past,” he said.
Bhullar is seen as one of the Progressive Conservative party’s rising stars. Bhullar was first elected to the legislature in 2008 in a closely contested race in the riding of Calgary-montrose at the age of 28, making him the youngest member elected to Alberta’s 27th legislature. He beat Leech, who was running as an independent after a disputed nomination race, by only 617 votes.
In 2011, Bhullar was appointed to cabinet as the Minister for Service Alberta by Alison Redford.
Leech and Bhullar face businessman Iqtidar Awan, who is running for the Liberal Party and Al Brown of the NDP.