The race for the local Alberta Party nomination is over earlier than expected and Tim Osborne will carry the party’s banner in the next provincial election campaign.
Osborne’s lone challenger Victor Fernandez withdrew from the race three weeks ago, not long after entering the contest.
Fernandez said that, on closer inspection, he doesn’t believe the Alberta Party accurately reflects his worldview and he no longer wants to run for them.
“I have information that I didn’t have before and it was the wrong decision,” he said. “Unfortunately I realized that after.”
Fernandez is a St. Albert firefighter and founder of the charity Canadian Aid for Fire Services Abroad — a charity that supplies firefighting equipment to developing countries.
Fernandez said he is not done with the idea of provincial politics and he is looking for a place to bring his energy.
“I have lots of battery left. I just need to find where I fit better,” he said.
His work with that charity earned him a spot as a finalist in the CBC’s Champions for Change competition that awarded contestants for their volunteerism.
Fernandez’s withdrawal leaves only Osborne in the race, though his nomination won’t be official until Sept. 26, the date originally set for a vote in the constituency.
Osborne, a local management consultant and vice-president of the Heritage Lakes Community Association, said he’s happy to have the nomination and looks forward to the provincial election.
“I think it is an exciting opportunity,” he said. “There is a lot of work to be done, but I am really excited to be representing the Alberta Party.”
He said the challenge of running for a relatively unknown party is immense, but he thinks he is up to it.
“I think that hard work is going to be the main part of it. It is really about getting out and meeting people,” he said.
To do that, Osborne hopes to get out into the community by door knocking and attending local events to spread the message about the party and its policies.
“It is really going to be a grassroots kind of movement,” he said.
The other challenge is around election timing, he said.
“We are planning for the possibility of a fall election, but hopefully when the PC leadership is settled we will have a better idea of when we might see the next election.”
