Following weeks of controversy, the votes are finally in and the person who will be filling the shoes of Genia Leskiw following her retirement has been chosen.
Following weeks of controversy, the votes are finally in and the person who will be filling the shoes of Genia Leskiw following her retirement has been chosen. Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland has won the right to represent the PC Party for the Bonnyville - Cold Lake constituency.
"It was a really great result today, I appreciate everyone in the riding coming out to vote, it was a huge number of people today that cast their ballots," Copeland told media following the announcement. "I'm proud that I won the nomination, the right to support the PC Party here in Bonnyville - Cold Lake."
A record number of voters came out to cast their ballots in this contentious election. While PC Party representatives said they would not officially release final numbers, in a press release sent out by Copeland he stated that he received 663 of the votes and opponent, Glendon resident Dixie Dahlstedt, received 591 votes.
PC Party members were able to cast their ballot during a two-hour advanced poll in Bonnyville on Thursday night or at the poll in Cold Lake on Saturday from noon until 5 p.m. However, with the riding stretching all the way to Glendon, doubts were cast over the fairness of the process of this election with some believing the outcome could have been quite different.
"I think it's pretty tough for a visiting hockey team to win when the rules and the referees are set up against you," said Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski of the nomination results.
He went on to say, "I know a number of people that just couldn't get out to vote and then some that there was no way they were in sufficient health to wait in the lines or they were unable to make it to Cold Lake because they couldn't get rides."
Sobolewski stated that in past PC Party candidate elections, such as when he ran against current MLA Genia Leskiw, polling stations were set up in Cold Lake, Bonnyville and Glendon, in addition to the advanced polls. He believes that if the process had stayed the same for time around, the results would have been different.
M.D. of Bonnyville Reeve Ed Rondeau, who was turned away at the polls after being told he was not a member "in good standing", echoed Sobolewski's sentiment.
"If there had been a poll in Glendon or if there had been a poll in Bonnyville on Saturday, Dixie would have won that election. There's no doubt in my mind about that. It just sounds like for some reason almost like they're trying to make an example of this riding and I don't know why."
Copeland said there was a lot of misinformation being thrown around on social media but he is confident it was a fair and democratic process.
"It was absolutely a fair election. We live in a riding that's very large, there's no doubt about it. But people have to understand that we were down to barely anybody on our committee so the decision was one polling station."
He added, "I really feel for the nomination committee. There was a lot of stuff going on that people weren't aware of, there was a lot of disrespect showed by people out there and I'm very confident in how the process was handled."
President of the local PC Association Bob Buckle said the process was very trying for those involved but now they're looking forward to moving on.
"It was basically handled like a general election when really it was a PC membership issue, but that aside it was obviously very passionate in the region...it was close fought and a decision has been clearly made and now we can move forward."
Following being named PC Party representative, Copeland said he would also remain the Mayor of Cold Lake for the time being until an election is called. He admitted however that preparations for the election were already underway.
"You start to gear up for (the election) to get your team together and organized and figure out where you want to hit across the riding and start to introduce yourself to them and what you represent."
Buckle said he's confident in Copeland's ability to lead the Bonnyville - Cold Lake PC Party without showing favouritism to any one area.
"Anyone who knows Craig Copeland knows that he's very fair minded, knows that he's very driven for results and he's got a lot of great ideas for this region that are long over due and will be well received by everybody once they understand that."
Not everybody has jumped on that bandwagon yet, though. Local leaders in the area are still skeptical about what this means for the future of the region.
"Well he has made it very clear that he stands for regional government, regional government is not going to benefit the M.D. at all. So is this going to benefit the M.D.? I don't think so," said Rondeau.
Sobolewski said, "We haven't really seen a lot of fairness in the past here when it comes to dealing particularly with ID 349 (Cold Lake Air Weapons Range) and issues such as that. But the proof will be in the pudding."
Following the election, opponent Dixie Dahlstedt said it was a very close race and she's proud of everyone in the constituency who exercised their right to have a voice in the community.
"In a very short period of time people were willing to work very hard for the issues and the policies and it reflects very well on the intestinal fortitude of the people of this community," said Dahlstedt. "It think it was an extraordinary turnout in less than two weeks for an official campaign to be mounted, so I think in that sense we have nothing short of a victory here. I have no regrets."
