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Smith wants ousted Wildrose candidate to run again in Edmonton

10005789

Smith wants ousted Wildrose candidate to run again in Edmonton

Joe Anglin lost nomination battle to rookie politician Jason Nixon

Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith says she wants outspoken MLA Joe Anglin to run for a new seat in Edmonton after he was pushed out of his Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre riding in a hotly-contested nomination battle.

On Saturday, rookie politician Jason Nixon defeated Anglin for the Wildrose nod in the sprawling central Alberta constituency.

With almost two years to go before the next scheduled provincial election, Smith said Sunday that Anglin still has an important role to play as the official Opposition attempts to form government.

“I’ve encouraged him to seek a nomination in another riding, perhaps in Edmonton, but he’ll have to make his own choices about what it is he wants to do. But I think he’s been a huge asset to our party. He’s an incredible champion on the issue of property rights,” she said in an interview at the massive Hays breakfast at Heritage Park.

Anglin did not return phone messages and Smith said he was taking time off after the nomination battle.

A property rights crusader and former leader of Alberta’s Green party, the 58-year-old Anglin is well-known for his shoot-from-the-hip style, which included criticizing the Wildrose Party for its handling of the nomination challenge.

But Smith said she hoped Anglin’s loss would not prove disruptive and that he would choose to stick with Wildrose.

“I’m hopeful that he realizes that he can best represent his constituents … by being a member of our caucus,” she said.

“But Joe, by his own admission, is a bit of a maverick and I look forward to seeing what he says when he comes back a week from now.”

Nixon is the eldest son of Calgary Mustard Seed street ministry founder Pat Nixon.

He currently works as president of the Athabasca University Students’ Union and is pursuing a Certified General Accountant designation.

“I’ve learned a lot, and I’m really excited to get to work to take on the PCs in the next election,” Nixon said after his win.

“I really want to be focused on constituency issues, be more active in the riding.”

Nixon, 34, is the constituency association president for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, and Anglin said he was stunned when he filed nomination papers June 9 to challenge him. He sought to have Nixon disqualified, but failed.

“If the Wildrose can’t follow their own rules, I am not sure they’re fit to govern,” Anglin said after the decision came down. “You just can’t make rules up and say you aren’t going to follow them. Otherwise we’re no different than the PCs.”

Smith said she didn’t know what conditions on the ground led to Anglin’s defeat.

“But what I do tell my MLAs is that their number one business has to be to take care of business in their own riding. They have to have good relations with their councils, they have to attend functions, they have to attend parades, they have to make sure they’re nurturing relationships with their volunteers,” she said.

“So it’s probably a combination of those things but most of my MLAs, you will see, they got elected by acclamation.”

http://www.canada.com/news/politics/Smith+wants+ousted+Wildrose+candidate+again+Edmonton/10005788/story.html

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