As the orange NDP wave that swept the province following the May 5 election has begun to calm, local leaders are now preparing to work with a new government.
Both Westlock mayor Ralph Leriger and Westlock County reeve Bud Massey say they look forward to working with new MLA Glenn van Dijken and the ruling NDP government.
“As a council we look forward to working together with the new government and MLAs and congratulations to our new MLA — we look forward to working with him,” said Massey.
Leriger also congratulated the new government and Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA.
“Congratulations to our new premier Rachel Notley and MLA Glenn van Dijken, I think that’s important to give them congratulations,” Leriger said. “Politics are all about relationships, to me, and it’s really important municipalities have good established working relationships with all levels of government.”
Massey said he relates to the NDP’s message, as it is the same chord he and council ran on in the municipal election.
“The people of Alberta have spoken, and they have spoken very loudly. They feel that it’s time for change,” Massey said. “That is exactly what the current council ran on a year-and-a-half ago.”
Massey said he does have some concern with regards to the urban and rural vote split, but said he’s interested to see what the government will bring to the table in regards to municipalities.
“One of the concerns that we would have is that it’s never good to see an urban and rural split in the province … it could be an issue,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the kind of things they would wish to discuss in the municipal realm. I’m not exactly sure what all of those are going to be, but I’m jut looking forward to working with the new government.”
Both the mayor and the reeve indicated a good working relationship with the previous PC government, and both said they hope it continues with the NDP.
“We worked well with the previous government, it’s our job as municipal leaders to make sure the people of Westlock County and Westlock area get a fair return,” Massey said. “Today we’re optimistic.”
“I had well-established relationships with the previous government, and now there’s new people, so the work continues. It will be a busy time for me and all,” Leriger said, adding a thank you to outgoing MLA Maureen Kubinec. “I want to thank Maureen Kubinec. I see her as a woman of integrity and she worked very hard on our behalf, and I want to thank her for her community service.”
Village of Clyde mayor Doug Nyal said it’s too early to tell how the NDP government will impact villagers.
“There’s a lot of speculation going on there,” Nyal said. “We’ve got to wait and see. Just like any new government, they have a job to do and we have to give them time to do it and try and support them the best we can.”
Nyal added he looks forward to meeting with van Dijken to discuss local issues.
“I look forward to meeting with him and hearing what he has to say as far as the Village of Clyde and his position on our region, what he’s thinking are the pros and cons of our region, and what he’d like to see changed, if any,” he said.
