Two more people announced this week they are seeking the United Conservative Party nomination for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake.
Red Deer County Coun. Christine Moore announced on Wednesday she will seek the party’s nomination for the seat left vacant after first-term MLA Don MacIntyre resigned after being charged with sexual assault and sexual interference last month.
Sylvan Lake resident and City of Red Deer employee Victor Sloboda announced on Facebook on Monday he was also in the running.
Devin Dreeshen, fifth-generation farmer and son of Red Deer-Mountainview MP Earl Dreeshen, Red Deer lawyer Gayle Langford, Penhold town Coun. Mike Walsh and former Sylvan Lake town councillor Joan Barnes have also announced they are seeking the nomination.
It will be the second time Moore is seeking the MLA seat. She lost as a Progressive Conservative to NDP candidate Kim Schreiner in Red Deer North in 2016.
“In the wake of our MLA resigning unexpectedly, after a decade of division, I believe that it is time for our community to move forward,” says Moore in a statement accompanying her Wednesday announcement.
“This community needs a representative with a proven track record of balancing budgets, standing up for their community, and someone with the experience to deliver on their promises,” says the two-term councillor.
Moore’s says her biggest concern is rural crime.
The economic downturn has created “unprecedented levels” of crime in Central Alberta and the “NDP have done nothing of substance to address the problem,” she says.
Moore wants to see changes to Alberta’s justice system and, if elected, would lobby the federal government to “update the Criminal Code so that these criminals receive more than just a slap on the wrist for terrorizing our communities.”
Sloboda says on his Facebook page that he grew up on a farm at Viking and moved to Sylvan Lake in 2000, where he and his wife have raised six children.
“I have lived through prosperity and recession in this province and have seen the best and worst of people,” he says in his nomination announcement.
“Everything I have and the place I am in is all because of the commitment I have made to be the best that I can and to take what this life gives me and make it work. This has given me the opportunity to be an influence in my community and work place.
“I have reached an age in my life where I have the time and energy to give back to my province and to serve this community in gratefulness for all that it has given me.
pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter