Jason Nixon, the recent winner in a nomination race for Wildrose, won’t be taking any holidays this summer, although two of his brothers are tying the knot and he plans to be present at both weddings.
Nixon, the former Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre constituency president defeated MLA Joe Anglin in a nomination race 242 to 122. With the nomination win behind him as of July 5, Nixon has no plans to sit on his laurels and already is immersing himself in issues throughout the riding.
“My number one job is focusing on the members in the entire riding,” he said.
He plans to be in Rimbey today (Tuesday) at Whitgan Creations and Gifts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and looks forward to meeting with constituents during that time.
The issues in the large riding differ and he plans to do what he can to help each municipality achieve their goals. A new hospital in Rocky Mountain House, flood mitigation in Sundre and aging infrastructure in Rimbey are all issues that deserve individual attention, he said.
The 34-year-old father of three who lives west of Sundre in the Bearberry area with his wife and children said he decided to run because he wanted to give the members in the constituency the opportunity to make a choice.
The Wildrose Party has been most supportive of his nomination, he said.
“All my fellow party members have been so supportive and the volunteers who helped me were great. I could not have done it without them.”
MLA Joe Anglin’s has not returned an email from the Review regarding the nomination race, but Nixon said he called him personally to offer his congratulations.
“He called me within minutes of the results coming out and he was really graceful. I wish him the best of luck, as well, in the future,” he said.
During the campaign Anglin tried unsuccessfully to have Nixon barred from the race, and alleged he broke party rules by announcing his decision to run in the campaign before he stepped down as president of the constituency.
Rimoka chairman Paul McLauchlin remained non-committal about the nomination results.
“Joe is still our MLA and we will continue to work with him until an election is called. Potentially, we would look forward to working with Jason, as well,” he said.
Ted Bach is the new interim president of the constituency. A new executive for the constituency will be elected at the annual general meeting slated to be held in Rimbey in mid-October.
A provincial election may not be called until 2016.