Anyone needing help making up their mind who to vote for in the provincial election, here’s your chance. Candidates will be at the Chamber of Commerce’s election forum this Wednesday, Jan. 27, at the Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre, at 7:00 p.m.
Such forums usually allow opening and closing statements from each candidate, with plenty of opportunity for questions from the floor in between. The election date is Monday, Mar. 3.
And in case you can’t make it (or even if you can), here’s a brief introduction to the candidates.
Progressive Conservative
Pearl Calahasen is the incumbent MLA. She’s represented Lesser Slave Lake since the 1989 election, serving under Premiers Don Getty, Ralph Klein and Ed Stelmach. She’s seeking her sixth straight election victory.
Calahasen grew up in Grouard and attained degrees in Education from the University of Alberta and University of Oregon.
Calahasen worked in the field of education before going into politics She served for several years in the Klein government as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.
Liberal
Steve Noskey is the chairman of the board of trustees of the Northlands School Division, a sprawling jurisdiction that looks after schools in many small, rural communities across northern Alberta. He has served on that board in one capacity or another for over 20 years.
A resident of Little Buffalo, Noskey works in the oilpatch. This is his first time running for political office at this level. He says being from a small northern community helps him to understand what people go through, and he thinks the Liberal Party can do better than what the Tories have done.
Green
Bonnie Raho is the Green Party candidate, and the last one to join the race. She’s a resident of Faust with a history of involvement in environmental education and action in the region.
Raho is a vice president of the Regional Environmental Action Committee. She’s keen on promoting a political vision that calls for a reduction in the negative impact of human activity on the environment. Voting for the Green Party, she says, sends a strong message to whoever ends up in power that these concerns matter to the voters.
New Democrat
Habby Sharkawi is the New Democratic Party candidate. Born and raised in High Prairie, she attended university in Edmonton and now works in that city. The NDP plan has the best interests of Albertans in mind, Sharkawi believes, and it has the best leader in Brian Mason. Ordinary people, such as seniors and farmers, aren’t getting enough benefit out of Alberta’s oil boom. The NDP says it wants to fix that.
“People want change,” Sharkawi says, and hopes voters will consider the NDP as the best alternative.

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