Progressive Conservative candidate Ron Casey may have just won a seat in the provincial election, but that doesnít mean he is going anywhere.
On April 23, the former mayor and now MLA for Banff-Cochrane said after his successful campaign he will continue to have a real presence in the ridingís communities.
Casey said communication and engagement are important for him as an elected representative in the legislature.
ìI think some of the things that dogged the party and came out of the election is the party as a whole had lost touch with AlbertansÖ it wasnít resonating,î he said. ìWhat I am looking forward to is seeing that rebuilt, and Alison Redford is committed to that directionÖ that change she is going to bring is the part I am most excited about.î
The 60-year-old has plenty of experience in local politics, having been elected as mayor four times and councillor once.
He said being able to listen to people, especially when it involves contentious issues, and work with them to find solutions is not an easily learned skill, but is necessary to be an effective politician.
ìTo be in a room of angry people, because you will be, and let them work through that is something that takes time to do and I have certainly had more than enough experience with that,î Casey said. ìI think that is a huge thing to bring to the table.î
Casey said going into the election he knew it would be a battle and his party had many issues early on, but over the last week, Wildrose leader Danielle Smithís responses to some of her candidatesí comments just didnít sit well with voters.
ìI think by the last week, the wind seemed to come out of the Wildrose sails, it seemed to stall and they were dealing with their own issues,î he said.
Casey won the election by a margin of 699 votes, with a total vote count of 6,632. Wildrose Party candidate Tom Copithorne had 5,933 votes, Liberal candidate Pete Helfrich 2,234 and New Democrat Jamie Kleinsteuber 1,059.
Helfrich said losing the election has not deterred him from continuing to be involved in politics in the area.
ìNow is not the time for us with liberal values to feel crushed, now is the time to recognize this is climbing a mountain,î he said, adding the party has taken a fall but that means it must get back up and keep climbing.
With respect to the overall election results, Helfrich said he thinks Albertans made the right choice.
ìLike many Albertans, I was terrified of the idea of a Wildrose government,î he said. ìWhen people went to the polls they looked and they saw the Wildrose and the PCs and I think people made the right choice picking the PCsÖ Albertans still donít see or havenít seen for many years the Liberals as being a viable option.
ìI think it is a lesson. It is high time Liberals and alternative parties finally learn that people donít view us as an option and until we finally face up to that reality we are going to continue having elections like this.î
However, the most frustrating part of the campaign, said Helfrich, is a persistent association Albertans have with Liberals and the National Energy Program from the early 1980s. He said he would like to see people move on from that mentality.
ìYou are undermining our ability to move forward by not letting go of the past,î he said. ìWe are talking bad government policy, not civil war.î
