Chris Clegg
Joe McWilliams
South Peace News
Three people have declared their candidacy in the Lesser Slave Lake riding in the May 29 Alberta election, while four are running in Peace River and five in Central Peace – Notley.
The deadline to file was May 11 and despite rumours there were more candidates in some ridings, they did not step forward in time.
In Lesser Slave Lake, voters will elect a new MLA after incumbent UCP MLA Pat Rehn decided to not seek re-election. It does not mean the riding will have a first-time MLA; however. NDP candidate Danielle Larivee served in the Rachel Notley government from 2015-19 and is running against UCP candidate Scott Sinclair and the Solidarity Movement of Alberta candidate Bert (Bertrand) Seatter, a former county councillor.
Slave Lake Lakeside Leader editor Joe McWilliams reports in today’s Leader two other names popped up on the scene including an Independent, the other from an “independence- minded” party.
“The most likely of the two seemed to be William Tufts, of the brand new Wildrose Loyalty Coalition (WLC). According to daveberta.ca, the WLC only came into existence, officially, in the first week of May. However, its leader is no stranger to Alberta politics. He is Paul Hinman. Hinman was once a colleague of former Premier Danielle Smith, back in their Wildrose Alliance days. He is again running for MLA in Taber-Warner, which he previously represented, both for the Alberta Alliance and Wildrose Alliance,” writes McWilliams.
“The other prospective candidate, according to daveberta.ca, was Nancy O’Neill. It had her down as an independent.
In Central Peace – Notley, incumbent UCP candidate Todd Loewen faces a challenge from four candidates including Rodney Bowen of the Independence Party of Alberta, Megan Ciurysek of the NDP, Wanda Lynn Lekisch of the Alberta Party, and Nancy O’Neill of the Solidarity Movement of Alberta. At press time, it is not know if this is the same Nancy O’Neill referred to the Leader article.
In Peace River, incumbent UCP candidate Dan Williams faces a challenge from Sharon Noullett of the Independence Party of Alberta, Independent candidate Conrad Nunweiler, and Liana Paiva of the NDP.
Loewen and Williams were both elected to their first term in 2019 and are seeking a second term in office.