Neudorf frustrated at slow results; incumbent re-elected in Lethbridge East
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on May 30, 2023.
Nathan Neudorf reacts to some of the early results as the UCP gained ground in Monday's provincial election. Herald photo by Ian MartensNote: this is an updated version of the story that appeared in today’s Herald. By 12:30 a.m., the results in Lethbridge East had not yet been finalized with ballots from several polling stations yet to be counted:
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
Incumbent MLA Nathan Neudorf has retained his seat in the Alberta Legislature.
Neudorf collected 11,003 votes to keep the seat he first won in 2019. NDP challenger Rob Miyashiro finished second in the race, earning 10,258 votes in his first run for the NDP which returns as official Opposition in the legislature after the UCP won its second straight majority government. Liberal Helen McMenamin finished third with 488 votes.
With still no winner announced in Lethbridge three hours after the polls closed Monday, it was unclear who was more frustrated with the slow poll results, the politicians or the media.
Nathan Neudorf, UCP incumbent for Lethbridge East, was frustrated and didn’t have any explanation, especially given the speedy results from the previous provincial election. But he was confident that he, as well as the UCP, would eventually win the day.
Neudorf said his campaign gained a lot of momentum leading up the election, and he was confident the party would do well.
That became evident around 11 p.m. when the UCP was declared the majority government. Neudorf and his supporters, as well as Lethbridge West candidate Cheryl Seaborn cheered and clapped, even though the two Lethbridge candidates still didn’t know if they were going to win or lose.
Seaborn, who was up against NDP Incumbent Shannon Phillips and was behind in the early polls, expressed appreciation for her supporters and the number of young people, particularly from high schools and the university, who participated in the election process and supported her and Neudorf.
“There is hope for our future,” Seaborn said during the celebration party at a local restaurant.
While the numbers continued to trickle in, Neudorf took a few minutes to speak with the Lethbridge Herald and echoed Seaborn’s comments about the support from volunteers, which he estimated was triple the number from the previous election.
Neudorf said the primary goal of the party, despite what might happen in Lethbridge, was to win a majority government and bring stability to the province, especially following the pandemic and the resulting instability. He pointed out the government has balanced the budget, lowered taxes, paid down debt, and plans to remove the gasoline tax later this year.
“Those are the responsibilities we have within our authority, and I think that’s what Albertans expect; they do expect responsible fiscal policy.”
Neudorf admits the NDP ran a clever campaign on policies, “some of them Conservative light.” But the NDP erred when its campaign turned negative.
“I think Albertans in general are tired of that.”
As of press time, Rob Miyashiro announced he was reserving comment with the race being as close as it was. As of deadline, several polls hadn’t reported so no winner was yet apparent.
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17-16
YEAHHH – Commonsense prevailed!