(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

staying in the game

Former Red Deer city manager throws hat in the ring for NDP in Red Deer-North

Jul 9, 2022 | 10:29 AM

Craig Curtis, the City of Red Deer’s former longtime city manager, is seeking the NDP nomination in Red Deer-North.

No other nominees have officially joined the party’s race for that constituency, which is currently held by UCP MLA and Education Minister Adriana LaGrange.

“I feel very strongly that the current government is going in the wrong direction. It’s very divided and in fact very dysfunctional, and I don’t see that changing in the short-term,” says Curtis.

“Meantime, there are some really important issues that need to be addressed, and I think the NDP has a plan that can begin to look at those.”

Chief among Curtis’s concerns are education, health, the economy, reconciliation, diversity, the opioid crisis and the environment.

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“There’s no clear advancement of hospital expansion,” he says. “And we have a drug crisis that’s killing people, but no adequate plan to stop it.”

Curtis was city manager in Red Deer from 2007 to 2019, and was director of community services for 10 years before that. He has been in municipal service and politics in one form or another since 1976, and recently wrapped a two-year stint as interim CAO for the Village of Caroline.

“I have a lot of government experience, and a lot of knowledge around policies of government and how to implement them,” he says. “At this time, the NDP’s policies most closely align with the passion I feel for certain key issues, and because of all that, I think I can bring to the table a strong campaign that can win the Red Deer-North riding.”

The NDP say multiple people have expressed interest in the nomination race for Red Deer-North, though dates are not yet solidified for registering as a member to vote, nor the actual vote.

The party says it will provide updates in the near future.

The next provincial election in Alberta is scheduled for spring 2023.

READ MORE: NDP names official candidate for Red Deer-South in 2023 election