Division 2 Candidates make final pitch at Meet & Greet

From left: Lynda Moffat, Kristin Toms, and Rudy Van Woerkom. – Lucie Roy Photo

by Lucie Roy

The three candidates in the Sturgeon County Division 2 By-Election were at a Meet and Greet event held at the Cardiff Golf and Country Club on Thursday night co-hosted by the St. Albert and Morinville District Chamber.

This was an opportunity to ask questions and meet the candidates before the last Advance Poll this Saturday, 14 September at the Sturgeon County Centre, 9613-100 St in Morinville.

On Election Day, Tuesday 17 September there are two Voting Station Locations, Cardiff Hall and Pinnacle Ridge Estates Homeowners’ Association.

The three candidates are Lynda Moffat, Kristin Toms, and Rudy Van Woerkom.

Rudy Van Woerkom

Asked why he is running, ” I want to make a difference in the county. I looked at the way things are running and from my viewpoint, it could be improved on and I feel i could be the one to improve it.”

Asked about specific issues, Van Woerkom replied, ” My issue is the general operation of the county where I feel it needs to be looked at from a non-political side, more like a business side.”

Asked why he is the chosen candidate, ‘I am dedicated, I have lived here for twenty years. I have been involved in the community for a number of times and I feel I am a good choice because of my business background. it will help me make good choices with the county and I am an extremely objective person.”

Kristin Toms

Asked why she is running, Toms replied, “There are a number of factors that made me decide to run, one is that I really feel strongly that people deserve strong representation.I follow politics very closely and I find that often when people are elected they change from wanting to represent the people to wanting to get along with the group or wanting to do their own thing and I found that very frustrating. I feel like I can communicate well with everybody and make sure that I understand what my residents want and provide them with that.”

Asked about any specific issues, Toms replied, “Some of the issues I have heard from the residents, specifically are with respect to drainage and road. So hence those are my issues as well, as wanting to improve the roads, making sure that we have good access and services, specifically for the valley area of Div.2 and within Cardiff, the drainage has been sited as a bit of a challenge with folks having flooded lawns, etc.”

Asked why she is the chosen candidate Toms said, ” I feel like I have the background and the desire and the will to work hard and to work with everybody and to get out there and learn what I need to learn and to make sure that I am a representation for the people, one who communicates with them and be available to meet their needs.”

Linda Moffat

Moffat said, “I think I would be a great addition to the county council. A very positive addition.”

She has no specific issues for running but said there are a few important issues that she thinks about but not compelling, “One of them is fiscal management and the other is transparent government, maybe fewer private meetings and more public meetings.”

Asked what makes her the ideal candidate Moffat said, ” I am very familiar with municipal government.I spent one term on the Council in St Albert and now I have spent many years being CAO of the Chamber of Commerce in St. Albert.”

She went on to say,” So doing advocacy work and advocating for businesses to all levels of government, primarily municipal government you get to work with them all and you get a really good understanding of municipal government and that is why. I love it to.”

Moffat said, ” I met the most wonderful people out door-knocking in Div. 2. Wonderful people and it is so diverse in Div. 2, you get from the Valley to the farms in Carbondale to Cardiff. This community is so different and their problems are different, things that are concerning to the people in the Valley are not an issue for the farms and Carbondale is quite rural, even though it is a hamlet, quite a rural area so their complaints are a little bit different. It is very diverse and is interesting.”

Division 2 Candidates will vote Sept. 17 at

An Advance Vote will be Saturday, Sept. 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Sturgeon County Centre. Election Day is Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Cardiff Hall and Pinnacle Ridge Estates Homeowners’ Association Community Centre.

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