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I will do my best for Barrhead: Maureen Kubinec

Hugging her 21-month-old grandson Clay, Maureen Kubinec’s face glowed with joy and relief after Saturday’s historic Tory nomination victory. Later the grandmother of seven pledged to work hard for Barrhead, saying she knew the area well.
How sweet it is: Maureen Kubinec with 21-month-old grandson Clay in the aftermath of her PC nomination victory at Westlock Memorial Hall on Saturday.
How sweet it is: Maureen Kubinec with 21-month-old grandson Clay in the aftermath of her PC nomination victory at Westlock Memorial Hall on Saturday.

Hugging her 21-month-old grandson Clay, Maureen Kubinec’s face glowed with joy and relief after Saturday’s historic Tory nomination victory.

Later the grandmother of seven pledged to work hard for Barrhead, saying she knew the area well.

“I will do my best to represent the town as well as Ken Kowalski,” she said on Sunday, shortly after attending a Catholic church service in Barrhead.

“During the campaign I spent two days in Barrhead, going up and down the street, meeting people. I received very positive feedback.

“Some issues were raised. The one that comes to mind is health care. I was also there to introduce myself and sell memberships.”

Kubinec, who lives on a farm in Linaria, beat off four other candidates to replace long-serving MLA Ken Kowalski as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock riding.

She will square off against Wildrose candidate Link Byfield and NDP’s Trudy Grebenstein in the provincial election this spring.

There were 1,233 ballots cast throughout the constituency, more than 260 from Barrhead, while nearly 750 came from Westlock. Norm Kitz, PC returning officer, said 561, or 44 per cent, of the votes went to Kubinec. It was unclear how many preferential ballots she received.

This is the first occasion that a nomination race has taken place since Kowalski was elected to represent the Barrhead area in 1979.

Although 66-year-old Kowalski was not at the vote, his son Michael was present at Westlock Memorial Hall, along with his wife.

“I’ve known Maureen Kubinec for a long time. She is a community leader,” said Kowalski when contacted on Sunday afternoon.

“I’m going to help her every conceivable way. She is part of the movement that I’ve been involved in for 40-some-odd years.”

About 100 people gathered to hear constituency association acting president Mark Oberg announce the vote after counting that lasted more than two hours.

Oberg said he would not be releasing the vote count for each candidate. The left side of the room, largely made up of Kubinec’s family and friends, burst into applause and cheers.

“This is such an honour. I’m a little bit speechless. This is amazing,” said 56-year-old Kubinec.

Although she looks forward to her future with the PC Party and the coming spring election, she noted it wasn’t going to be easy, recognizing she has big shoes to fill.

“He (Ken) did such great service for this constituency and I can’t say that I’m going to do the same things that Ken did; I will just do my very best job,” she said.

Throughout her campaign, a topic that kept coming to the forefront of discussion was getting youth involved with the PC Party — something she said she accomplished by having a handful of younger supporters involved in her campaign.

“People participated and that’s what’s so exciting about this race,” she said. “We had almost 750 people come to the Westlock polling station and that’s amazing. I think that shows that maybe the days of voter apathy are over.”

Kubinec, who praised the other candidates for a clean campaign and declared everyone a winner after the vote, said Albertans were looking for a change.

“This is an exciting time for the PC party, with a new premier, Alison Redford, and with many new MLAs about to be elected this spring. Albertans can expect good things to happen in our already very blessed province.”

“I am confident we can build on what Ken Kowalski has done in this riding,” she added. “They are big shoes to fill.”

As the significance of her win slowly sank in, Kubinec said: “I am excited and energized. I was cautiously optimistic about the result, but could take nothing for granted.”

Among the many wellwishers who congratulated her was Barrhead Mayor Brian Schulz, who shook her hand.

Kubinec, who was due to meet Kowalski yesterday at his constituency office, said she was familiar with Barrhead, having served as a trustee for 12 years on the Pembina Hills school division board, which is based in the town.

It was this experience, coupled with her presidency of the Alberta School Boards Association, the umbrella group that comprises all the boards in the provinces, that helped her win the nomination, she believed.

“I bring experience from many boards,” she said. “I also bring common sense and honesty.”

Kubinec won a seat on Westlock County Council in 2010 and was involved with the Northeast Persons with Developmental Disabilities board. She was also a founding member of the Westlock Women’s Association.

The defeated candidates congratulated Kubinec, each pledging their support for her in the provincial election. Some also speculated on the margin of victory.

“Obviously by the amount of time it took for the counting here today, it was a very close race all the way through and I’m very excited for Maureen to win,” said Town of Westlock Coun. David Truckey.

“Maureen deserves to win. She ran a better campaign,” said Tim Schultz, adding his biggest difficulty was connecting with the population in Westlock.

Heading into their campaigning, all candidates said reaching out to the various municipalities would prove their biggest challenge. Despite this challenge, a high number of voters turned out. “As far as the participation level, it really has raised the profile of the Conservative Party in this area,” said Westlock County Coun. Bert Seatter.

Morinville mayor Lloyd Bertschi said Kubinec did a “great” job getting her supporters out on voting day.

Kubinec will continue serving as Westlock County councillor until an announcement is made for the provincial election. At this time, she will take a leave of absence until the election results are in.

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