Kerry Towle will represent the Progressive Conservative Party in Innisfail-Sylvan Lake in the next provincial election after winning a party nomination vote in Penhold on Saturday.
Towle received more votes than Red Deer County mayor Jim Wood, the only other candidate vying for the nod.
She felt the win was satisfying after what she said has been “a tough few months,” but is now concentrating solely on getting back to work.
“I’m looking forward to ... focusing on the issues facing our riding, and to making sure that urgent care, transportation issues, and our seniors and schools are getting addressed and have that strong voice at the table,” she said. “It’s been a tough few months, there’s no question about it, but we needed to go through this process. I’m really looking forward to getting back to working hard for the riding.”
Towle said she was highly impressed with the level of engagement shown for both teams in the nomination, with more than 1,000 votes having been tallied in total. And she had plenty of positive things to say about runner-up Wood.
“Jim Wood did a fantastic job and he ran a fantastic campaign,” she said. “I applaud him for that, and I’m looking forward to working with him and his team.”
She’s also grateful to voters who took part in the nomination process, and for their feedback – both positive and negative.
“I felt very strongly supported in our riding, and I’m thankful for that, but I certainly would never take a voter for granted, and I know we’ve still got lots of work to do,” she said.
Towle’ nomination success comes after she received a number of high-profile endorsements, including one from Premier Jim Prentice who, during a recent visit to Sylvan Lake, referred to Towle as “one of the best, most effective MLAs in the province.”