Hinton mayor elected as first Alberta Party leader
EDMONTON - The newly elected leader of the Alberta Party says he has a daunting task ahead to convince Albertans that his fledgling organization is the best alternative for change in provincial politics.
“You go into their kitchens and living rooms, pubs and coffee shops, and you talk to them about what we’re doing, you talk to them about what is on their minds, you listen to the solutions they have to offer,” Glenn Taylor said Saturday shortly after his victory speech at the Shaw Conference Centre.
“You make sure you do the work of building the party by going to where the people are and not expecting them to come to us. So it’s on the road for a long time to come.”
Taylor, the current three-term mayor of Hinton, emerged the easy winner among four candidates vying to become the Alberta Party’s first official leader. He captured more than 55 per cent of the votes cast during the first ballot, negating the need for a second vote.
Exactly 1,200 ballots were cast online, by phone and in person at the party’s convention Friday and Saturday — a total one official described as “not bad” for an organization with about 2,100 members.
Taylor secured 665 of those votes, followed by Calgary businessman Randy Royer with 287. Mount Royal University English professor Lee Easton got 144 votes and social entrepreneur Tammy Maloney received 104.
A large contingent of Taylor supporters cheered and waved plastic hand clappers when the results were announced.
“I was surprised to win on the first ballot,” Taylor told media while standing in front of the new party logo featuring a shield of blue, green and yellow stripes.
“With politics you never know how things are going to go. I think we had a strong resounding message that this party is ready to move on with a progressive leader who has some experience at the municipal level and who is ready to bring these ideas to the provincial level.”
In his efforts to grow support, one of the biggest challenges facing Taylor will be defining a clear identity for his organization. To date, party officials have largely focused on leadership style and the process of engaging Albertans, but there remains confusion as to where the party actually stands on policy issues.
Taylor said he hopes to appeal to a broad cross-section of voters rather than try to carve out one niche of the political spectrum.
“People are always trying to pigeonhole us to make it easier to understand,” he said. “Are you on the left or are you on the right? My answer is this: People will identify us when they find what they believe in reflected in the policies we have developed.”
Pressed on that question, he suggested the party is a combination of “social responsibility” and “fiscal prudence” that is happy to take good ideas regardless of where they originate.
He said the ruling Tory government tends to shut out dissenting voices and instead operates with a culture of fear. Jurisdictions who fail to show support for the Conservatives, including his hometown of Hinton on occasion, have been punished, he said.
“We’ve seen buildings not get built, roads not get completed.”
Sue Huff, who served for several months as interim leader, said Taylor is a good choice for a political party that wants to avoid being partisan.
“His background as a municipal politician is a perfect fit because what we are trying to do is actually mirroring what’s happening at the municipal level where people look for the best idea and they don’t care where it comes from,” said Huff, who plans to take-on Tory cabinet minister Heather Klimchuk in the Edmonton-Glenora riding next election.
“We’re a centrist, pragmatic party that builds on the common sense of Albertans. We’re in the middle somewhere —fiscally prudent but socially quite progressive. Albertans want a compassionate government that takes care of the pennies as well.”
The party has also tried to characterize itself as the most advanced when it comes to digital technology and social media. About 59 per cent of those who voted in the leadership contest did so through their phones, computers or mobile devices.
The Alberta Party currently has one MLA, Calgary-Currie representative Dave Taylor, who was elected in 2008 as a Liberal.
Glenn Taylor said one of his immediate tasks is to prepare for the next election by building constituency associations in all 87 provincial ridings. The party currently has 50 established or in the works.
Taylor himself plans to run in his home riding of West Yellowhead, which would pit him against Tory incumbent Robin Campbell.
For the moment, he plans to stay on as mayor of Hinton for an undetermined time until the town council comes up with a leadership transition plan.
Also Saturday, the party released its new health platform which calls for better fiscal management but no increase in health spending. The policy says the province should reinvest in home care and long-term care, increase the number of family doctors, and ensure nutrition becomes part of the school curriculum.
Among the approximately 250 members at Saturday’s convention was Dave Colburn, chairman of the Edmonton public school board.
