NDP nominations tentatively set for end of April
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The next provincial election may be more than a year away, but a St. Albert trades teacher is looking to get the NDP nod to run in that election for Morinville-St. Albert.
James Grondin announced his intention to seek the NDP’s candidacy for the constituency Wednesday and said he expects the nomination event to take place at the end of April.
“As a journeyman high school teacher, I feel overwhelmingly compelled to speak up with what’s going on in the field of education in this province,” Grondin said in a media release Wednesday. “Cutbacks, the lacklustre response to COVID and the absence of class size tracking have ripped the heart out of education. The education minister alone has not been in a classroom with children since the pandemic began or spoken to the Alberta Teachers Association in months. There is a complete disconnect between what’s happening in a classroom and the information the government is putting out.”
A journeyman red seal/blue seal machinist before starting a family with his wife Amy, James Grondin has been a permanent resident of St. Albert for the past 10 years as well as on and off over the previous 10 years while he attended the University of Alberta and was starting a career as a teacher. The couple has three young children in the St. Albert school system.
Healthcare is one of the provincial items that are on the nomination candidate’s mind.
“My heart is heavy for anyone who works in healthcare,” he said. “Too many people have moved on from the pandemic before it’s even over. Healthcare workers will need our support right now and for a lot of years to come. The most recent round of nurses’ contract negotiations showed us what the government thinks of our nurses. The mediator forced the government’s hand and gave the nurses the raise they deserve.”
As he has been talking on doorstpes and on the phone, Grondin said he keeps hearing from local constituents that the UCP government and Jason Kenny are not to be trusted.
Grondin has set up a website for his nomination campaign at www.NDPjamesgrondin.com
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Story compiled by Stephen Dafoe
