(Facebook/Red Deer South UCP)

By Sheldon Spackman

red deer-south

FCP candidate Teah-Jay Cartwright wants more accountability from MLAs

Apr 13, 2019 | 4:30 PM

Smear campaigns and adversarial politics at both the federal and provincial levels have inspired a local small business owner to run for the Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta in the constituency of Red Deer-South.

Mobile disc jockey Teah-Jay Cartwright says there seems to be more corruption and other things going on in politics that every-day people cannot get away with.

“There’s not a lot of actual representation of the voters, it seems to really be party politics and driving their narratives, despite the fact that the average person — based on my observations — have different impressions of things,” says Cartwright.

After looking at each of the party platforms, Cartwright felt the FCP’s platform resonated with him more than any other.

Holiday festivities

Ponoka's Enchanted Forest Festival of Trees begins next week

Nov 16, 2024

Holiday charity

Pattison Media raises $28,000 for The Outreach Centre during Day of Holiday Hope radiothon

Nov 16, 2024

Ending hunger

Canadian Foodgrains Bank highlights work at event in Red Deer

Nov 15, 2024

“What really drew me was a commitment to eliminating the party whip which immediately opens up the MLA to better represent their constituents,” explains Cartwright. “Number two was we want to have recall legislation, which again holds your MLA accountable to the voters. That is what in my opinion a democracy is supposed to be, your elected representative is supposed to represent the people who elected them, as well as everybody else who didn’t.”

Voter-initiated referendums according to Cartwright are another aspect of the FCP’s platform he also feels strongly about.

“The ability to have the voters initiate vetoes on legislation, that is a by-pass to the elected officials altogether,” he says. “So if you do have a party that maybe isn’t working in the best interests of the province, then if enough people get together, sign a petition, they can force a referendum and you can completely by-pass your elected officials and the party that’s in power.”

Cartwright says his experience listening to his client’s needs and bridging differences of opinion amongst guests during events parallels well with the role of MLA.