Four candidates vying for Wildrose nomination

By MorinvilleNews.com Staff

Sturgeon County – Four nominees are currently vying for the opportunity to run as the Wildrose candidate for the Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater riding in the next provincial election.

The vote will be a mail-in-ballot at the end of May with ballots beign sent to party members from the Wildrose Alliance headquarters.

Two town hall meetings are being scheduled to give candidates an opportunity to speak. The first will be held May 3 at the Athabasca Seniors Centre at 7 p.m. the second will be held May 6 at the Radway Ukrainian Cultural Centre at 7 p.m.
In the interest of giving all candidates an opportunity to get their message out to potential party voters, we are presenting their bios as submitted by the four candidates in alphabetical order:

LORI DANYLUK

My name is Lori Danyluk and I have 28 years hands-on experience with husband, Larry, running our cow-calf farm operation along with our family. We have 3 grown children who completed their secondary education. They work and live in the constituency with their families. The Danyluk family has been farming in the area for 100 years.

I was first elected Councillor of Smoky Lake County in 2007. In addition to my regular duties as a councillor I sit as:

-Municipal Planning Commission Chairman
-Local Assessment Appeal Board
-Agricultural Service Board
-Smoky Lake County Natural Gas Utility
-Smoky Lake Family-School Liaison
-Northern Lights Library System
-Smoky Lake Foundation
-MuniCorr (part9 company)
-Smoky Lake Agricultural Society-council rep.
-Smoky Lake Fire-Rescue Committee
-past executive-director HUB regional economic development board.

I have also received numerous certificates from Municipal Affairs and the Elected Officials Program. Prior to being a councillor Lori was a small business entrepreneur. As a community volunteer, I have shown leadership through past involvement as treasurer, Smoky Lake Minor Hockey; Vice-President Smoky Lake Agricultural Society; local liaison-director Sturgeon Pembina Hockey League; and volunteered with various groups. I believe in giving back to the community.

When approached to run as a nomination candidate, I suffered a political identity crisis as to where I sat on the political spectrum. A free vote for the MLA, duty-bound to the constituency first totally resonates. I believe politicians have a responsibility to speak out on the issues in their constituencies, not only stand up to ask government approved questions. We shouldn’t be scared that it would be viewed as unacceptable.

If I am successful in the nomination and am elected in the next Provincial election, my experience as a municipal councillor will enable me to govern immediately. Alberta is changing and we don’t want to be left behind. I feel that I have much to offer the region.

LAURI GENERT

Hello, my name is Laurie Genert and I want to be your MLA. I have been working towards this goal for almost a year, going door-to-door all over our constituency, meeting you, selling memberships, and having you sign my nomination petition. I want to help you get Alberta back on track. I want to ensure that you have a voice, that the people of our constituency will be heard.

This sounds simple, but you may not know me. I am an Albertan; I live in the County of Thorhild on a farm. My husband is a contract operator in the oil and gas industry. I am a mother, grandmother, bookkeeper (for our company and the farm), and an active community volunteer. I served six years as an Aspen View School Board trustee, and I have chaired and been a member of several boards and committees within our community and province.

I graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor degree in Social Work, and I am a Registered Social Worker with the Alberta College of Social Workers, and a member of the Canadian Association of Social Workers. I have worked in many diversified areas of social work, and as the Director of a Family and Community Support Service.

I have many years experience in dealing with our government bureaucracy, and know the frustration of trying to be heard by our representatives and Ministers!

TRAVIS OLSON

Travis is passionate about making positive change in Alberta. Travis chose to run for the Wildrose Party as a result of witnessing the complete disregard that the current PC government has for the rights of landowners. Travis is determined to work towards the restoration of landowners rights for each and every Albertan and will continue to fight for the repeal of Bills 19 36 and 50.

Travis is committed to making much needed change in the healthcare sector so that constituents have access to quality healthcare. The centralized AHS “Superboard” experiment has failed. Travis believes we Alberta should decentralize health care so that local decisions can be made by local decision makers in the community, not in Edmonton. It is important to note that Alberta spends significantly more per capita on health care than any other province, yet Alberta continues to rank among the lowest on every performance indicator. Travis believes that through having funding follow the patient, we can provide incentive for healthcare authorities to provide better service to patients.

Alberta is the wealthiest jurisdiction in North American yet we continue to have deficit budgets. Travis believes that it is essential to return to balanced budgets through keeping spending in line with that of inflation plus population, as well as reducing spending on unnecessary bureaucracy. Travis believes that Albertan’s know best how to spend their own money and is determined to put Alberta’s dollars back into the hands of Albertans.

Travis and his wife Vanessa are residents in the Athabasca area where he plays a large role in the operation of the family farm. Travis attended Old’s college where he obtained a diploma in Agricultural business. He is involved in various community activities, including coaching the local basketball team and being a 4H leader.

DONALD RIGNEY

My name is Donald Rigney, I’m 59, and I live in the southern part of the riding near Bon Accord.
I was born and raised here, and have been producing beef cattle since 1983. At the same time I’ve been involved in numerous community and county organizations and activities, from 4-H as a kid to chairing Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association, which is home to some of Canada’s largest petroleum and petrochemical refining complexes. I was elected to Sturgeon County council in 2001, and am serving my second term as mayor. I have worked hard to keep taxes low and the community and region strong.
Professionally, I have a background in commercial property sales and development here and in the U.S., and in my younger years rode for the historic McIntyre ranch in southern Alberta, guided white water rafting tours in the Northwest and Yukon Territories, and worked as a butcher at Redwater Lockers.
I live on the family farm with Heather LaRose and have three grown children. I hold a BSc in agricultural science and an MBA. I didn’t get a PhD as I didn’t want to be pronounced ‘full” and incapable of accepting any more knowledge!
I’m seeking this nomination because I believe the Wildrose has the best vision of Alberta’s future, and will do the best job encouraging the value-added upgrading and processing in our riding that I have been working so hard to secure.
At a deeper level, I believe Danielle and the Wildrose truly reflect the energy, common sense and creative determination of Albertans, and will preserve and apply those basic values in our rapidly changing province.

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3 Comments

  1. a common thread running through the 4 candidate bios is that the people want government to listen to them. For the past few years in Alberta, the government has been telling us what they want to do for us. The rise of the Wildrose Alliance is no manufactured movement but the push back from the grass roots. People want to have input into what goes on in the legislature. In fact, I believe more people would vote if they felt that it mattered.

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