‘Our Girl’ Pearl elected to 6th term

Mac Olsen
South Peace News

Like her Progressive Conservative counterparts, incumbent Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pearl Calahasen received a majority of votes and was re-elected to a sixth term March 3. The unofficial results for the riding showed Calahasen winning with 3,390 votes. Liberal Steven Noskey was second with 1,114 votes followed by New Democrat Habby Sharkawi with 423 votes and the Green Party’s Bonnie Raho with 269 votes. All told, just 5,196 of 19,474 eligible voters voted, which translates into a turnout of just 26.68 per cent. In the final days of the campaign, there was a lot of talk about voter apathy, especially for the Progressive Conservatives. These concerns were unfounded, as the PCs won 72 of 83 seats. Even Calahasen wasn’t concerned about voter apathy. “I’m never concerned about voter apathy, because the people take it seriously. They always make sure they go out and vote,” says Calahasen. She touted her political experience as a way to differentiate herself from the other candidates. Calaha- sen adds she works hard for the riding. Calahasen’s priorities in the next term will be to get the roads paved in the riding, including the Seal Lake Road near the Peavine Metis Settlement. She also wants to ensure the new hospital in High Prairie is built. Other communities will receive her attention, including Slave Lake, which voted heavily for her. For instance, she wants to ensure the petroleum sector continues to prosper. “We want to make sure that the oil and gas industry continues to flourish in this province. But we also want to make sure that we get our fair share of the royalties,” says Calahasen. Other candidates in the riding says they are not disappointed with the outcome. Noskey, who ran for MLA for the first time, says his campaign really didn’t get underway until mid-February. He admits he didn’t visit enough communities. However, he took the election in stride, although he would have liked the turnout higher. “It’s been good. I had a lot of fun, and met a lot of people,” says Noskey. “I know there’s support out there,” says Noskey. “The thing about it is, the voter turnout remains the same as the last time (the November 2004 election). I don’t know how one can get that turnout up.” Sharkawi says she didn’t have a lot of money to run her campaign. Her strategy was to go door-to-door and she was able to find out a lot about voters’ concerns this way. “I’m really happy that I had the opportunity to get out there and hear people’s views and what their concerns for the area are,” says Sharkawi. She, too, would like to have seen a better voter turnout. Raho questions why the PCs won by an overwhelming majority in the election. A lot of people told her they’re dissatisfied with the present government. “I don’t really understand,” says Raho. “There’s some kind of disconnect there.” She was also pleased to give those who wanted to vote for the Green Party the opportunity to do so. She adds the time will come when “the critical state of the environment will take precedence.”

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