Monday's all-candidates forum for those seeking election in the St. Albert and Spruce Grove-St. Albert ridings was an opportunity for the public to get a first look at the people vying for their votes in the upcoming provincial election.
Monday's all-candidates forum for those seeking election in the St. Albert and Spruce Grove-St. Albert ridings was an opportunity for the public to get a first look at the people vying for their votes in the upcoming provincial election.
Ten of the 11 candidates – the Green Party's Brendon Greene was a no show – made an appearance at the standing-room only affair hosted by the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce at the St. Albert Inn. While the Gazette is not endorsing any one candidate, we took the time to evaluate those seeking election and make some first impression remarks about who did well and who fell short at this first public appearance.
Gary Hanna, a teacher and union local president running for the Alberta Party in the Spruce Grove St. Albert riding, was hands-down the most impressive speaker of the night. Hanna, who is passionate about education, spoke with sincerity and charisma. While he took moments to criticize the PC's record over the past four decades, he also clearly articulated the Alberta Party's goals as well as his own. He also resonated with the crowd drawing on personal experiences and garnered boisterous applause more than once.
PC incumbent Stephen Khan and NDP candidate Marie Renaud, who are both running in the St. Albert riding, kept pace with each other as they took very different tacks when addressing the crowd. Khan, known for his charisma and confidence, displayed both poise and unwavering faith in he and his party's record. He drew both applause and the occasional scoff from the crowd as he tried to sell the PCs as the best choice moving forward.
Renaud came across with similar strength, but unlike Khan's commander-like presence bolstered by his party's long history of government, her confident talking points exuded compassion and her passion for health care and people was clear. Her opening address and answers to the questions, while somewhat short on specifics, garnered the best crowd response.
Rounding out the top of the pack were the Wildrose's Shelley Biermanski and Liberal Bill Alton. Biermanski, who came near to tears while talking about her grandmother's final days in an understaffed hospital, was balanced in her approach, shifting seamlessly from criticizing PC policies while presenting her party's plans to rectify those shortcomings.
Alton, choosing to leave the best for last, catapulted himself to the front of the pack from the near back in his closing remarks. His opening address was vague and unfocused, losing the crowd almost immediately. He gained ground when speaking about his thoughts on health care and then roared to life at the end. Like the end of a good orchestra performance, his closing crescendo brimmed with passion and strength. Perhaps the strategy showed his political savvy, leaving the most memorable part of the evening for the end.
At the bottom of the pile, Trevor Horne, Spruce Grove St. Albert's NDP candidate, was clearly out of his league. The political science student gained points for recognizing his youth and inexperience but his robotic and scripted remarks did little to capture the crowd.
The remainder of the candidates varied in performance but their combination of scripted, vague and/or flat responses left many wanting for more.
