Wildrose nomination process to begin soon

Times Reporter

 

Recently the Wildrose Alliance announced they are ready to begin the nomination process for the Strathmore-Brooks Constituency. Arno Doerkson is currently the MLA for this constituency and up to now there has not been a Wildrose representative for this constituency. 

“So basically what we’re doing is we are going to run a nomination process to get candidates, or potential candidates, so we have a representation here in this constituency,” said Bryan Thiessen, Vice-President of the Constituency Association. 

As of Feb. 18, what can happen is if a person has been a member of the Wildrose Alliance for a certain period of time prior to the nomination process, they can fill out an application. Each nominee must get approximately 75 signatures from other members saying they want that particular candidate to run for the area. Thiessen said the goal is to have someone run for the party in every constituency. He said he believes right now approximately half of the constituencies have a Wildrose representative. 

“Right now if there was an election called tomorrow, we would have no one to run against Arno (Doerkson),” said Thiessen. 

News of Premier Ed Stelmach stepping down soon was not the motivating factor for the Wildrose Party.  

The party will be open to receive nominations for 21 days. If there is more than one nominee, there will be a mini election in the area for anyone who is a part of the Wildrose to vote for who they want. The Wildrose Alliance Party is conservative, as are Stelmach and his representatives, but Thiessen said the Wildrose is further right on the political spectrum.  

“We are trying to sit there and say the conservatives are not on the right side any more, they have moved too much. They’re basically centre and we’d be right of centre,” said Thiessen.  

The Wildrose Alliance considers themselves fiscally conservative. They believe in a balanced budget, not running off a deficit, said Thiessen. He said they also believe strongly in individual rights, with property rights being one of those beliefs. The Wildrose Alliance Party has been running neck and neck with the Stelmach Conservatives in popularity and is ahead in rural areas, said a press release from the Wildrose Alliance. If February 18 is chosen for the opening notice, the final date for nomination applications will be March 11.