Progressive Conservative Party leadership candidate Gary Mar’s campaign was given a big boost in the foothills.
Highwood MLA George Groeneveld and Livingstone-Macleod MLA Evan Berger endorsed Mar’s campaign on Sept. 21. The move came just days after Foothills-Rocky View MLA Ted Morton threw his support behind Mar after not advancing to the second ballot of the leadership vote on Sept. 17.
Mar came in a strong first place with 41 per cent of the vote in the first round of balloting in the Progressive Conservative leadership election on Sept. 17. Mar will be on the second ballot with Alison Redford who placed second and Doug Horner.
Groeneveld said the decision by former leadership candidates Morton, Rick Orman and Doug Griffiths to support Mar was a major factor in his decision.
“I was encouraged with that and my board pretty much backs me up on that,” he said. “It’s an easy decision now.”
Groeneveld and Berger supported Morton’s leadership bid for his dedication to conservative values.
“I supported Ted Morton because he ran on a platform of common sense conservative values, fiscal responsibility, balanced budgets and support for Alberta’s industries and environmental stewardship,” said Berger.
He said Mar has committed to him he supports these same values and this is what brought him to endorse the frontrunner.
Ultimately, Berger said he spoke with his supporters in his constituency who felt Mar was the right candidate.
Mar said he was pleased to have the support of Foothills’ MLA’s.
“I’m very excited to have this kind of support from two people that I have a great deal of respect for who represent their constituents so incredibly well here in Southern Alberta,” he said.
He said the premier cannot represent any one part of the province over another. With this in mind, he said having the support of Groeneveld and Berger is important.
“To have the support of two very important southern Alberta MLA’s that represent areas that have tremendous assets that they contribute to our province is really critical for me,” said Mar.
He said their backing also strengthens the fiscal conservative side of the party.
“That’s an important thing in my overall campaign and these are two fiscal hawks that I’m happy to have on my side,” he said.
Mar is committed to balancing the budget by 2013.
“It will be very important that we make savings an important priority,” he said. “We can lift the value of the Heritage Savings Trust Fund to a value of $40 billion within the next 10 years if we are disciplined about our spending.”
He said he served in office during former Premier Ralph Klein’s tenure when eliminating the provincial deficit and debt were a top priority. He doesn’t want to have to repeat the significant cuts that were made at that time.
“It was a very hot fiscal furnace that I was forged in and I don’t ever want to repeat those circumstances again,” he said. “The good new is we don’t have to repeat them as long as we are disciplined about our spending. We won’t have to make dramatic cuts to anything.”
Looking forward, Mar said he understands how important the PC campaign in the Highwood constituency will be in the next election with Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith running in the riding. Mar pledged to support PC members in the riding in the next election and he committed to be present in the riding if successful in the leadership contest.
“We have enjoyed electoral success in this riding for many, many years,” he said.
The second round of balloting in the PC leadership race will be held on Oct. 1.
