As our politics-heavy coverage in this issue of the Rocky View Weekly shows, it's been an eventful week for some of Rocky View County's politicians.
Locally, Rocky View County has a new mayor – Division 2. Coun. Crystal Kissel won the vote at council's recent organizational meeting. We wish her luck in her new role.
At the provincial level, Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie was appointed the Alberta government's new Minister of Energy, following Premier Danielle Smith's cabinet reveal on Oct. 21. The promotion wasn't that big of a shock, as Guthrie pledged support for Smith throughout the UCP leadership campaign, and was even the first UCP MLA to do so.
In the riding west of Airdrie-Cochrane, Banff-Kananaskis MLA Miranda Rosin also received a promotion of sorts during the Oct. 21 cabinet reveal, where it was announced she was appointed as Alberta's new Parliamentary Secretary of Tourism. It's a position that should suit Rosin, given her riding's heavy focus on the tourism and hospitality industries, particularly in communities like Banff and Canmore.
While Guthrie's and Rosin's political careers appear to be in the ascendancy under Smith's premiership, on the other side of the county, the same cannot be said for Chestermere-Strathmore MLA Leela Aheer. In a Twitter post last week, the second-term MLA announced she would not be running for re-election next spring. Her stepping down also makes sense, as Aheer was a vocal opponent of Smith's throughout the UCP leadership race – a race in which she was also a candidate.
Meanwhile, Rocky View County's two Members of Parliament – Banff-Airdrie MP Blake Richards and Bow River MP Martin Shields – are voicing concerns about the impending boundary adjustments of Alberta's federal ridings. The proposed boundary adjustments, which are necessary to accommodate three additional seats for Alberta in time for the next federal election, will reconfigure the two MPs' ridings in a way they both feel does not make much sense.
All these recent developments highlight that political change is certainly afoot.
