Three Wildrose hopefuls look for nomination in Calgary- Foothills
Sept. 3 byelection set to fill seat of former PC leader Jim Prentice
A doctor, retired police officer and an oilpatch engineer will face off Tuesday for the right to carry the Wildrose banner in the Sept. 3 Calgary- Foothills provincial byelection.
Ophthalmologist John Huang, retired Calgary Police Service constable Kathy Macdonald and Suncor Energy senior manager Prasad Panda are seeking the nomination to run for the official opposition in the riding vacated by former Progressive Conservative Leader Jim Prentice when he resigned after winning the seat but losing the government May 5.
Huang, 52, who with his brothers Peter and Ian purchased the Holy Cross Hospital in 1997, said voters in the north Calgary riding are reeling at the prospect of a third election in eight months with a byelection to elect Prentice, a general election and another byelection to replace Prentice.
“There’s still a lot of fallout from the sudden resignation of the previous MLA and certainly there is some discontent around the suddenness of that decision,” said Huang, a north Calgary resident who has been active in conservative politics for several decades. “I am sensing a little bit of anxiety and discontent that this will be the third time that local residents will be going to a byelection, but it is what it is.”
Macdonald, 58, announced her bid for the nomination immediately after Prentice stepped down, saying she had “unfinished business.”
She finished second to Prentice in the October byelection and second to the NDP’s Karen M. McPherson in Calgary- MackayNose Hill in the May general election.
“There’s almost election campaign fatigue,” said Macdonald. “People are tired of elections, and trust is a big issue. They feel they have been let down. I want to restore some trust in politicians.”
She hopes to win the nomination Tuesday and celebrate her Sept. 3 birthday by being elected the MLA for Calgary- Foothills.
“They need someone who is going to be there for them,” said Macdonald, a north Calgary resident who spent 25 years with the Calgary Police Service before retiring two years ago.
Panda, 51, also feels the voter discontent over the premier’s abrupt exit.
“People are not very happy,” he said.
The longtime Calgary- Foothills resident said the Tories can’t win the riding and may not even be able to field a candidate.
He said residents, particularly those who make their living from the energy industry, are leery of the NDP government.
“I’m a longtime Wildroser,” said Panda, who twice ran for the party in Calgary- Northern Hills.
“This is not my first rodeo. This will be my third. Some people joke that I should get my head checked ... but I have a passion for it, and for me it is a project unfinished.”
Huang, who served as president of Calgary MP Diane Ablonczy’s federal riding association for more than a decade and did stints on the executive of several provincial PC riding associations, said his main reason for running for the nomination is to reunite Alberta conservatives in the same fashion federal conservatives united.
“I was inspired by Diane, and I worked with her back in the 1990s and early 2000s to put together right- of- centre federal parties,” he said. “It was hard work. It wasn’t easy, but by splitting the vote, the result was clear. We had three terms — 13 years — of Liberal government.”
Huang said he realizes there is a rift between the right- of- centre parties that needs to be closed, but he believes it is critical to start now rather than waiting for wounds to heal.
“I saw this sort of discord early on in the 1990s and early 2000s,” he said. “I understand how raw emotions can get ... We’re challenging all small- c conservatives to take action sooner, rather than later.”
Wildrose executive director Jeremy Nixon said he expects a good turnout for the nomination meeting despite the fact the party had to move up the date when the byelection was called early.
“Our nominees have run excellent campaigns and have worked very hard at letting voters know about the change in date,” he said. “Certainly our turnout will be reduced from what it would have been.”
The nomination meeting is being held at the Edgemont Community Association in the Panorama Room, 33 Edgevalley Circle N. W., with voting from 4 to 8 p. m.
While the PCs have yet to nominate a candidate, the Liberals have nominated engineer Ali Bin Zahid, and Green party leader Janet Keeping will run for her party. Both were candidates in Calgary-Foot-hills in the provincial election.
The NDP recently nominated former MLA and alderman Bob Hawkesworth as its candidate.