Raj Sherman elected Liberal leader on first ballot
By Karen Kleiss, edmontonjournal.com
September 10, 2011 6:10 PM
Source - Edmonton Journal
Raj Sherman speaks after being elected as the Alberta Liberal leader on September 10, 2011, at the University of Alberta main gymnasium in Edmonton.
Photograph by: Greg Southam, edmontonjournal.com
EDMONTON — Alberta Liberals on Saturday elected health-care folk hero Raj Sherman as the party’s new leader, signalling a shift toward a fiscally conservative platform and a strong mandate to attack the ruling Conservatives’ record on health care.
The emergency room doctor and MLA for Edmonton-Meadowlark won on the first ballot with more than 54 per cent of the vote, beating out long-serving MLAs Hugh MacDonald and Laurie Blakeman by a healthy margin.
“We must have steel in our spines and we must not be faint of heart,” Sherman said in his victory speech. “Albertans deserve leadership that will take a stand on their behalf when we are faced with moral issues, we must stand strong.”
Fully 8,640 Liberal members and registered supporters voted in the leadership election, more than double the 4,500 that voted in the 2008 election, but not nearly all of the 27,000 eligible voters the party signed up in recent months.
Sherman, 45, ran on a five-point platform focused on responsible government, stable economy, health care, education and care for senior Albertans.
First elected in 2008, the former Tory backbencher vaulted into the public spotlight in November after he sent a late-night email to doctors and MLAs lambasting Premier Ed Stelmach for breaking his promise to improve emergency room wait times.
The letter made headlines and triggered an emergency health-care debate in the legislature. Sherman refused to back down and the Tories turfed him from caucus on Nov. 22.
Sherman stayed in the headlines for months, alleging in February the Tory government paid millions to silence doctors who complained Albertans were dying on waiting lists. The allegations, made with little proof, created a political firestorm that forced Stelmach to order an investigation.
On March 15 Sherman purchased a Liberal party membership, but he continues to sit as an independent member in the legislature. Pursuant to party rules, Liberal caucus members will now have to hold a vote to allow him to join them.
The race began on Feb. 1 when outgoing leader David Swann announced he would step down as leader just one week after Conservative leader and Premier Ed Stelmach announced he would do the same.
The race pitted veteran MLAs MacDonald and Blakeman against newcomer labour leader Bruce Payne, Calgary businessman Bill Harvey and Sherman.
Outgoing leaders David Swann urged Alberta Liberals to stand united behind the party’s new leader.
“We face a monolithic government who will do almost anything to stay in power and has all kinds of advantages: a 40-year incumbency, piles of cash, the levers of power and a culture of secrecy and fear that pervades every sector of Alberta,” Swann said in a speech to more than 100 Liberals at the University of Alberta main gym.
“At this time in our history, we cannot afford to second-guess ourselves,” Swann said. “If we march forward united, with one powerful voice, then we will surprise everyone come the next election – perhaps even ourselves.”
Online and telephone voting started Monday, and in-person voting started at 8 a.m. Saturday.
By mid-afternoon Saturday, Liberal officials said more than 8,200 members and supporters had cast ballots in the party’s leadership election. The vast majority of those votes – 6,000 – were cast electronically, leadership race chairwoman Josipa Petrunic said.
kkleiss@edmontonjournal.com
twitter.com/ablegreporter
By Karen Kleiss, edmontonjournal.com
September 10, 2011 6:10 PM
Source - Edmonton Journal
Photograph by: Greg Southam, edmontonjournal.com
EDMONTON — Alberta Liberals on Saturday elected health-care folk hero Raj Sherman as the party’s new leader, signalling a shift toward a fiscally conservative platform and a strong mandate to attack the ruling Conservatives’ record on health care.
The emergency room doctor and MLA for Edmonton-Meadowlark won on the first ballot with more than 54 per cent of the vote, beating out long-serving MLAs Hugh MacDonald and Laurie Blakeman by a healthy margin.
“We must have steel in our spines and we must not be faint of heart,” Sherman said in his victory speech. “Albertans deserve leadership that will take a stand on their behalf when we are faced with moral issues, we must stand strong.”
Fully 8,640 Liberal members and registered supporters voted in the leadership election, more than double the 4,500 that voted in the 2008 election, but not nearly all of the 27,000 eligible voters the party signed up in recent months.
Sherman, 45, ran on a five-point platform focused on responsible government, stable economy, health care, education and care for senior Albertans.
First elected in 2008, the former Tory backbencher vaulted into the public spotlight in November after he sent a late-night email to doctors and MLAs lambasting Premier Ed Stelmach for breaking his promise to improve emergency room wait times.
The letter made headlines and triggered an emergency health-care debate in the legislature. Sherman refused to back down and the Tories turfed him from caucus on Nov. 22.
Sherman stayed in the headlines for months, alleging in February the Tory government paid millions to silence doctors who complained Albertans were dying on waiting lists. The allegations, made with little proof, created a political firestorm that forced Stelmach to order an investigation.
On March 15 Sherman purchased a Liberal party membership, but he continues to sit as an independent member in the legislature. Pursuant to party rules, Liberal caucus members will now have to hold a vote to allow him to join them.
The race began on Feb. 1 when outgoing leader David Swann announced he would step down as leader just one week after Conservative leader and Premier Ed Stelmach announced he would do the same.
The race pitted veteran MLAs MacDonald and Blakeman against newcomer labour leader Bruce Payne, Calgary businessman Bill Harvey and Sherman.
Outgoing leaders David Swann urged Alberta Liberals to stand united behind the party’s new leader.
“We face a monolithic government who will do almost anything to stay in power and has all kinds of advantages: a 40-year incumbency, piles of cash, the levers of power and a culture of secrecy and fear that pervades every sector of Alberta,” Swann said in a speech to more than 100 Liberals at the University of Alberta main gym.
“At this time in our history, we cannot afford to second-guess ourselves,” Swann said. “If we march forward united, with one powerful voice, then we will surprise everyone come the next election – perhaps even ourselves.”
Online and telephone voting started Monday, and in-person voting started at 8 a.m. Saturday.
By mid-afternoon Saturday, Liberal officials said more than 8,200 members and supporters had cast ballots in the party’s leadership election. The vast majority of those votes – 6,000 – were cast electronically, leadership race chairwoman Josipa Petrunic said.
kkleiss@edmontonjournal.com
twitter.com/ablegreporter