UCP candidate voting begins next week for Brooks-Medicine Hat

Voting to determine who the UCP candidate will be for the Brooks-Medicine Hat riding will take place on Monday and Tuesday.

It starts in Brooks at the Heritage Inn, 1217 Second St. West, on July 16 from noon to 8 p.m., and in Medicine Hat on July 17 from noon to 8 p.m. at the Medicine Hat Real Estate Board, 403 Fourth St. S.E.

The contestants are: Todd Beasley, Michaela Glasgo and Dinah Hiebert. The person who wins the nomination will be the UCP candidate for the riding in the next provincial election, which is expected to be called in the spring of 2019.

Only residents of the Brooks-Medicine Hat constituency who are UCP members, with a membership purchased no later than June 26, are eligible to vote on Monday and Tuesday.

Although the northern part of Medicine Hat falls within the Brooks-Medicine Hat riding, it is important to remember that a number of streets south of the South Saskatchewan River do as well.

The area south of the river and east of the Trans-Canada Highway fall into this category. The other boundary is Gershaw Drive, Third Street S.W. and Third Street S.E. up to South Railway. If you live on Third Street residents on the north side of the road are in the riding while residents on the south side are not.

The UCP won two by-elections this week in Central and Northern Alberta. Laila Goodridge won in Fort McMurray-Conklin and Devin Dreeshen in Innisfail-Sylvan Lake.

So far there is only one other contestant in the riding. Jim Black is hoping to be the Alberta Party candidate.