Highwood residents can expect another candidate to come knocking at their door in the next few weeks after the Alberta NDPs selected a candidate to run in constituency.
Leslie Mahoney will be carrying the orange flag, and the 25-year-old Lethbridge resident said once the school semester wraps up in the next few weeks, she’ll be out in full force knocking on doors and getting to know the Highwood constituents.
“I'm currently a student at the University of Lethbridge, working on a bachelor of science in psychology. I was born and raised and obviously still live in Lethrbidge,” she said. “I have a couple part time jobs all throughout my university career as well, and I'm looking forward to running in this election, I think it will be a very interesting race.”
Mahoney said she’s been involved in activism throughout her schooling and felt that now was the right time to step up and dive into the world of politics.
“I’ve been involved in campaigns with the NDP provincially and federally in the past and I thought it was high time I took a stab at politics myself,” she said. “I do some conservation work with volunteer organizations, I've worked with a group called Lightbridge Public Interest Research Group in the past, which is a group on the U of L campus working towards social justice and environmental activism.”
As to why she’s choosing to run under the NDP banner, Mahoney said she’s a strong believer in what the party stands for.
“I really believe in the values of the NDP looking out for the little guy, marking sure there's a social network in place to support our citizens here in Alberta,” she said. “With my experience with them over the years they're all very dedicated and integral individuals who are very committed to making sure Alberta is a livable place and that we have all the support and the networks in place to make sure everyone can get through.”
Mahoney is one of 76 candidates the NDP has assigned to run in constituencies across the province, nearing occupancy in close to all of the 87 constituencies. Mahoney said their strategy is to present a viable alternative to the government across the entire province.
“Just having someone on the door saying 'Hey we're the NDP' and we are an alternative, I think there's a lot of people who are looking for alternatives right now to some of the other parties in the province for various reasons and perhaps haven't considered us in the past and would be open to having a conversation with us about our values,” Mahoney said.
“So overall it's mostly just getting out knocking on doors like we always do, talking to people face to face and getting to know our province.”
While Mahoney lives a few hours away from Highwood, she said she’s familiar with the area and is aware of a number of issues that residents would like to see her address should she be selected as the next MLA.
“It's got some interesting challenges with the rebuilding after the floods from a couple years ago there and helping people get their lives back together… making sure there’s some long term plans in place to help recovery in the area both economically and for peoples homes,” Mahoney said. “That could be making sure there's ecotourism coming into the area which is a strong part of the Highwood riding, making sure that the flood management policies make sense and are actually practical and listening to people and seeing what else they need in the riding in terms of healthcare and schools.”
Mahoney said she’s looking forward to having those conversations in the coming weeks, and is looking forward to being able to officially kick off her campaigning once the writ is dropped.
“I think I could do a very good job if I was elected here in the Highwood riding,” she said. “I'm energetic with a fresh approach to politics and willing to listen and actually work on the suggestions made by the constituency.”
