Miyashiro and Mearns seek NDP nomination in Lethbridge West
By Lethbridge Herald on August 7, 2024.
Bridget Mearns and Rob Miyashiro have announced their candidacy for the NDP nomination to run in a byelection in Lethbridge West. Herald photosAl Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
At least two candidates will be seeking to represent the NDP in the Lethbridge West riding vacated last month by long-time MLA Shannon Phillips.
Within a few hours of each other on Wednesday, former Lethbridge East NDP candidate Rob Miyashiro and fellow veteran politician Bridget Mearns announced they have entered the race to win the NDP’s nomination.
Riding NDP members will choose their candidate on Sept. 7 with nominations closing Aug. 16.
Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization executive director Miyashiro, a two-term former city councillor who narrowly lost his bid to win the Lethbridge East riding against incumbent Nathan Neudorf last year, announced his intentions in the same room at the LSCO where he first told media he would run for Lethbridge East in the 2023 provincial election.
Miyashiro was flanked by a strong contingent of supporters including his wife Erin along with Phillips and one of her sons who gave the land acknowledgement statement and offered his support to the riding hopeful.
In the provincial election, Miyashiro earned 10,258 votes (47.2 per cent of all votes cast) compared to Neudorf’s 11,003 (50.6 per cent.)
Mearns also served two terms on council and ran unsuccessfully for the mayor’s job against Blaine Hyggen in the 2021 municipal election.
Born and raised in Lethbridge, Mearns has lived in Lethbridge West for 20 years and in a media release, she noted she’s the only candidate who actually lives in the riding.
Miyashiro lives, in his own words in response to a question, about 60 metres east of the boundary but candidates aren’t required to live in the riding.
Miyashiro told reporters the election is about healthcare, standing up for the Canada Pension Plan and about building “on the groundbreaking work of our longtime MLA Shannon Phillips to be a strong voice for Lethbridge. Lethbridge needs an NDP MLA. Our healthcare system continues to be in chaos and tens of thousands of Lethbridge residents still do not have regular access to a family doctor. Our education system continues to suffer from large classroom sizes, not enough new schools, and few supports in classrooms for kids. And only an NDP MLA will stand up for what Lethbridge needs,” Miyashiro said.
He said an NDP MLA will send a clear message to Premier Danielle Smith to keep her hands off the CPP.
He said the election is about standing up for Lethbridge and in a shot at Neudorf noted “we don’t have good representation in the legislature without the NDP. We just have folks who take orders from the premier and her advisors but with me as the NDP MLA, people in Lethbridge will have someone who knows the community, knows what our are real priorities (are) and has a demonstrated record of making life better for people in Lethbridge.”
Miyshiro said he has spent 40 years in the human services sector “supporting Albertans by developing and implementing successful programs for Indigenous families, people with developmental disabilities and seniors. I know what it takes to improve the quality of life for all people.”
Phillips said her family is pleased to endorse Miyashiro as the NDP’s candidate.
“I have full faith in Rob’s work ethic, his values and his roots in our community. I know the dedication, the hard work and the good humour that it takes to win a seat in southern Alberta and I know Rob has all of that along with the team he has built,” Phillips added.
Phillips said she is supporting Miyashiro “because I know he will be focused relentlessly on three things” including fixing health care in Lethbridge.
“Rob will make sure we have new clinics, more doctors, more training and investing in people and the hospital to better meet our healthcare needs.”
In her own announcement Mearns stated “I am the only candidate that can beat the UCP in the by-election and keep a strong voice in Lethbridge on the issues that matter, like health care, your CPP, and school class sizes.”
Mearns’ release stated during her time on council she “showed exceptional leadership and a deep commitment to community and government advocacy.”
“My experience and message resonated with the citizens of Lethbridge West which gives me an edge over other candidates seeking the nomination and a decided advantage over any candidate the UCP will throw at us,” said Mearns, who is currently the executive director of Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) Lethbridge region.
The candidate added that her extensive knowledge of the public and private sectors equips her “with a unique perspective and the skills necessary to address the diverse needs of Lethbridge” and her deep understanding of government processes and understanding the needs of residents and businesses alike will be “invaluable assets” in the legislature.
Mearns’ mother Bridget Pastoor also served two terms on Lethbridge city council and represented the Lethbridge East riding in the Alberta legislature from 2004 until 2015. She was first elected as a member of the Liberal party before crossing the floor to join the Progressive Conservative party in late 2011.
24-23
So what are the positions on Safe Consumption Sites (oxymoron) safe drug supply, as in NDP BC, balancing a budget, fiscal restraint, fixing health care like they did the last time (Sarc), or is it just woe is me, I’m NDP, UCP is bad and we will spend like there is no tomorrow. 76 billion the last time. All high spending and to hec with the people who fund their agendas. On a personal note our experience with the local health care has been top notch, from GP, to specialists, radiology, nurses, surgeons and after care. The secret, don’t be an entitled ass and keep your appointments. As for the CPP their one year return is 2 billion on at 570 billion fund equating to a 1.3% return and their five year return is 7 billion at 0.8%. Even the board of the CPP says it is a poor showing. Most of us would have canned our retirement fund managers for such a pathetic performance. Would be interesting to hear how these two would get the performance of the CPP to be better, when 1. It is a federally regulated and administered plan. 2. The investments, in such, they have no control over. 3. What are their expectations for a return if they were in charge. Would their expectations for return on a provincial plan be lower, seeing as the CPP is at the bottom of returns? In short they have no control over it and until they do it is just another bash the UCP to gain political points.
These two are like the NHL coaching fraternity. Round and round we go looking for a job.
The Emergency Department (ED) at the Fort Macleod Health Centre is set to temporarily close.
Alberta Health Services says the ED will be closed from 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 8, 2024 until 9:00 p.m.
The closure is due to a lack of physician coverage.
Quite common, they need a day off and there are holidays and the family to be with. You know all those nice social things that make health care workers have lives. It’s TEMPORARY.
How did a NDP MLA standing up for Lethbridge work out for us over the last 8-12 years?
And the dud UCP around here? Removing the caps on insurance and electricity rates which have gone through the roof to the benefit of the UCP big, corporate friends; underfunding municipalities both urban and rural with the ensuing rise in property taxes; the ongoing underfunding of education and health care; their push on for open pit coal mining west of here to the threat of our waters; the ongoing refusal to acknowledge that climate change is causing extreme weather patterns faster and faster including unreal wildfires; on and on….all increasing more expense and hardship for us. And the UCP talk about making life more affordable for us? A cruel joke by a bunch of lying clowns from the top down.
The AB NDP opposition has done/is doing, their job, pointing out the ongoing UCP missteps, admirably.
Yeh it’s the shots when you gotta pay your own way isn’t it. Why should I subsidize you if you’re a crappy driver. .
Municipalities are over spending. A few years ago there was an audit done on city spending. So they laid off and retired a number of people. Many got big buyouts. Ok but then a year later the city was hiring like crazy again. The city manager should have been called on that. The staff level is not sustainable. The police budget is not sustainable for the population of tax payers. This has been pointed out by a number of on the ball councilors over the years. But they only get one vote. Unfortunately a number of people are elected to serve, but few of them are not qualified. Their donors ,political base call the shots?