Westlock County Coun. Maureen Kubinec has announced her intention to seek the Progressive Conservative nomination for this riding.
She told the Westlock News of her decision late last week, saying she feels she has the requisite experience and desire to fill the role — not to mention a good support base.
“I’ve had quite a few people ask me to run,” she said. “I guess they thought I might have the qualifications to do it and I’ve got the interest to do it.”
Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Ken Kowalski announced his decision to retire Dec. 9, which came as a surprise to many after his August statement that he would seek re-election. Kowalski cited a desire to regain control of his personal life as the main motivation for his change of heart.
Kubinec has more than a decade of experience with local politics and board governance. She sat as a school board trustee in Three Hills before moving to Westlock in 1992, and won a seat on the newly formed Pembina Hills school board in 1995.
She sat as a trustee on that board for 12 years, and during that time was also on the board the Alberta School Boards Association, the umbrella organization that comprises all the boards in the province, and sat as president of that association from 2004 to 2007.
She took a three-year break from politics before winning a seat on county council in 2010, although she was actively involved with the Northeast Persons with Developmental Disabilities board, and was a founding member of the Westlock Women’s Association.
“I want to be able to bring the experiences that I’ve had in governance with me and make a contribution,” Kubinec said.
She noted it’s too soon to gauge the competition, with only two people declaring their interest as of yet, but she expects more announcements to come soon.
“It will be an interesting month, because things are going to happen quite quickly,” she said. “We’ll hit the ground running.”
As of Sunday, the only other confirmed candidate is Town of Westlock Coun. David Truckey.
No candidacies will be official, however, until the nomination paperwork has been submitted to the local Progressive Conservative riding association. The nomination period officially opens Jan. 3 and goes until Jan. 16. Those who are successfully nominated will have two weeks to campaign before riding association members vote on the candidate Jan. 28.
