Mike Allen, PC
There’s two very different papers to point to when looking at how Mike Allen made headlines in politics in the last few years. In 2012, the newly elected PC jumped from municipal to provincial politics. That June he submitted “Towards a Safer 63” to Alberta Transportation, acting as a special advisory on the road. Allen says seeing his recommendations making roads safer is one of his greatest accomplishments as a PC.
“It became a report about how do we improve safety on Highway 63. And then ultimately the long term goal was to complete the twinning project, to have it fast tracked. I get a great deal of satisfaction every time I drive down the road and see all those tonka trucks working,” he says.
Allen says there’s been a noticeable improvement on the road as drivers adjust themselves to new signage and Alberta Integrated Traffic Sheriffs. He still fields concerns about twinning the road, and assures people it’s on time and on budget to finish in fall 2016.
But Allen’s work dropped off the radar for a time in 2013 when he was arrested in a St. Paul Minnesota prostitution sting. He was in the U.S. representing Alberta at a conference. When reports reached Alberta, Allen resigned from the party, paid back the $2,061.44 in travel expenses and eventually plead guilty to soliciting a prostitute.
“I wanted nothing more than to just run away and hide under a rock but I felt it was necessary to engage in consultations with my community. And I was clearly told, by the vast majority of people I spoke to, they wanted me to continue,” says Allen.
He served as an independent for almost a year, and said it was an interesting opportunity to push the government and keep it on its toes when advocating for issues such as Highways 63 and 881. Last summer, the party accepted him back into the caucus, where Allen believes he is most effective. He also says he will always be a PC, and it’s the only party with an attainable plan. He argues there’s no way the Wildrose can keep its construction promises without raising taxes.
“The only way you can meet those promises would be to slash spending and they would have to be significant cuts. So my question to them is, tell us what you are going to cut, what services are going to be cut, and what you’re not going to build,” says Allen
Allen is a local business owner and jazz musician.
Stephen Drover, NDP
For those commuting to site, you would be familiar with the way Stephen Drover hit the campaign trail the last month. The Suncor Plant Operator gets up at 3:40 a.m., walking from one bus stop to another with cans of Orange Crush for workers. The campaign approach drummed up attention from local constituents online and with outside media. He wants voters to know the can of pop comes with the promise of 27,000 jobs across Alberta, reversed education cuts and investment into attainable energy projects.
Drover sits on the Public School Board and the current education budget doesn’t cover growing classrooms. The Conservatives are asking schools to dip into their reserves but Drover says it’s not the bank account you think it is.
“They handcuffed many boards, because a lot of boards don’t have their own reserves. And then they said we have to apply individually to get those reserves,” he says.
He also echoed the argument of NDP Rachel Notley who believes it’s time to scrap the Northern Gateway Pipeline. Drover says it’s doomed to be tied up in court for years as B.C. First Nations try to block the project. He argues the government should be focusing on the Energy East line.
“There’s opportunities here for all Canadians to profit in our natural resource and supply our own needs. It seems really foolish to me that we’re still importing oil from foreign countries when we have the ability to be self sufficient,” he says.
In the race to the legislature, Drover believes there’s only two parties ready to lead the province. He says the Wildrose is aiming low in its target to be the Official Opposition and it’s obvious because it’s committed to some high cost projects all over Alberta.
“When you’re running to be second place you can make empty promises because you know that you’re not going to have to make those a reality. But with the NDP, we’re shooting to be the party that’s going to lead this province. This is really a two-way race between Rachel Notley and Jim Prentice, ” says Drover.
The party also wants to see more upgrading and refining done in Alberta.
Robin LeFevre, Liberal
Liberal Robin LeFevre says the region has been cast in the shadows of a Tory government. While he doesn’t live in Fort McMurray, LeFevre says he could push for its needs.
“Because we can appreciate the importance of the riding. It’s been overlooked in a lot of ways. I’ve had a lot of experience in other countries with community building and development, and I think I can bring that perspective,” he says.
LeFevre, is a lawyer, consultant, and entrepreneur living in Edmonton. He’s one half of a Liberal husband and wife duo running in Fort McMurray’s two ridings. He says there have been signs the PC government’s reign is coming to end, because the party is acting like it forgot who it works for.
“They tend to think that they know all the answers and it’s like a business in a sense. If you don’t pay attention to what’s going on in your warehouse, you’re not going to make money. I think that they forgot to listen,” he says.
LeFevre also criticized the PC platform and its budget, arguing it empties the wallets of everyday Albertans.
“They’re focusing on a more equitable distribution of the responsibility for paying taxes and looking for larger and wealthier organizations or individuals to maybe take up a larger share,” he says.
LeFevre hasn’t visited Fort McMurray since the party named him a local candidate in late April.
Tany Yao, Wildrose
With an ailing father, Tany Yao says there wasn’t much of a choice but to leave the community.
“We had to move him to Edmonton full-time, and I had to help take care of him. Because we didn’t have a facility like the Aging in Place community, because we didn’t have a hospital that a community of this size and this far away from a major centre could have, or should have,” says Yao.
Despite claims from his opponents, Yao remains firm that he is a permanent resident of Fort McMurray. He tells the story of his family moving to the community in 1977. He’s the son of a nurse and well known doctor who is said to be one of the last family physicians to do house calls in Fort McMurray. Healthcare is a priority for the candidate who says he wants to see commitment like his father’s in some of today’s doctors. But he says, it’s not exactly encouraged when physicians have the option of flying out every other week.
“Because I don’t think anyone wants to commute, and that’s a reflection on oil companies as well and how they’ve really encouraged commuting in our city. I think a lot of these people would rather commute an hour to be with their families every night and hang out with their friends as opposed to commuting week in and week out,” he says.
Yao says, unlike the PCs, his party will actually get things done.
“We want a transparent and accountable government, we really want to focus on healthcare and education because the other team tends to announce a lot of these projects but do nothing, I really believe we could get these things built, I think we could get these schools and hospitals built, I think we can get the infrastructure in play.”
The Wildrose is promising some big budget projects such as improving Fort McMurray’s hospitals and highways.
-with files from Bradley Karp
