Project Alberta

http://www.albertaalliance.ca/
Leadership Convention November 18 & 19, 2005
Red Deer Lodge
4311-49 Avenue
Red Deer, AB

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On November 19, 2005 The Alberta Alliance Party will choose its new leader, following the decision of Randy Thorsteinson to step down. Thorsteinson lead the Alliance until April 15, 2005, taking the party from a neophyte stage to a viable and credible opposition in the November 24, 2004 Provincial election, when the Alliance took nearly 10% of the popular vote, and elected its first MLA, Paul Hinman in the constitutuency of Cardston-Taber-Warner.

The leadership convention will be held at:
Red Deer Lodge, 4311-49 Avenue, Red Deer, Alberta
403-346-8841 / 1-800-346-8841
Friday November 18, 6:00pm-11:00pm Opening Reception, Hors D'oeuvres, Cash Bar
Saturday November 19, 9:00am-4:00pm Party Policy, Candidate Speeches and Q&A, Vote, New Leader Address
Registration Fee: $15.00 (individual) $25.00 (couple)

Please watch for registration forms in the mail, contact Kathy Rayner at 403-358-3130/toll free 1-866-968-7864 or email your request to kathy.rayner@albertaalliance.com and a registration form will be emailed to you. You may also download and print a registration form by returning to the home page and selecting "Leadership Convention" under "Get Informed" and clicking on the link provided (look for red print).
Candidate Bios:

Marilyn Burns:
"A Brighter Future - A Better Way" is how Marilyn Burns describes her vision for Alberta, if she is elected as leader of the Alberta Alliance Party. She believes that Alberta could do so much better with a government that cares about the best interests of Albertans.

Marilyn, 49, is a woman with a pioneering spirit, for which, tongue in cheek, she holds her ancestry responsible. Her Slovakian paternal grandparents and German-Russian maternal grandparents immigrated to the Stony Plain area west of Edmonton to escape communist regimes in Eastern Europe. Her father worked for the Canadian National Railway west of Edmonton, and then settled on one of the last homestead lands offered in Alberta, carving out a small farm in the wilderness near Wildwood, Alberta, where her sister and brother-in-law now own a busy family sawmill. Marilyn recalls driving the tractor through swamp to get to the school bus until a road was built, and when it became too wet to drive the tractor, walking through ponds and watching tadpoles grow into frogs. She views this as a rich experience, and she grew to love the wilderness and farm life.

Throughout High School Marilyn was actively involved in sports and student leadership, and for three years was a member of the local 4-H Beef Club. She graduated from Grand Trunk High School in Evansburg, Alberta with the highest grade in English 30. She attended a Christian College in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and obtained a Bachelor's degree in Christian Education, graduating as Valedictorian. By student vote, she received awards for being the undergraduate who contributed the most to the College, and for being the female athlete who demonstrated the most sportsmanlike conduct. Since then, she has lived in Estevan, Saskatchewan; Spiritwood, Saskatchewan; Golden, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta, where she received her law degree; and Edmonton, Alberta, where she articled in 1995, and has since practiced law.

Before becoming a lawyer, Marilyn worked on farms, waitressed, taught piano lessons, was employed as a deli-clerk, a High School secretary, a Nurses' Aide in both a nursing home and a training school for severely mentally and physically handicapped children, and has been a summer camp instructor for children and youth. She has volunteered and taken leadership in many educational, church and community organizations.

Marilyn has four children, Jeremy, 24, Laura, 22, Daniel, 20, and Luke, 16.

When she determined to become a lawyer after Luke was born, she had not yet completed a single University course. She began Undergraduate studies by correspondence with Athabasca University and delivered the Edmonton Journal in the early morning hours so she could stay home with her children as long as possible. After completing two years of undergraduate study, she was accepted into four law schools, and chose to attend the University of Calgary.

Marilyn went searching for a Provincial opposition party in 2003, and became impressed with Randy Thorsteinson and the Alberta Alliance policies. She committed to doing as much as she could to move the Party forward, and has been the President - Northwest Region, Vice-President - Communications, and Justice Critic for the Party. She ran in the mixed rural/urban Constituency of Stony Plain in the November 2004 election, garnering 1,904 votes, in the traditional PC stronghold of former Cabinet Minister Stan Woloshyn.



David Crutcher:
David Crutcher is 65 years old and was born in Burley, England. Moved to Canada in 1969 and moved to Alberta in 1996. David is a Canadian citizen and resides in Calgary.

David obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1962 from Brunel University, England. From that point David was involved in management positions of several large corporations such as Canadian National Railway, Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney Canada and a civilian with the Canadian Navy. David has owned and operated his own successful business for the past 11 years.

David is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta(APEGGA), Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), The Institute of Marine Engineers (IMarE), Member of Concerned Christians Canada Inc. (CCC), Progressive Group for Independent Business (PGIB) and the Conservative Party of Canada.

David has also received extensive political training with the Canadian Leadership Institute and the Progressive Group for Independent Business (PGIB)

David got involved in politics in 2001 with the Progressive Group for Independent Business (PGIB) Calgary's largest and Western Canada's fastest growing business and taxpayer advocacy organization. He has worked on behalf of small business owners and residential taxpayers as the Alberta Chairman & Fundraising Chairman for the Political Action Committee for the PGIB. David Crutcher is also the President of the Calgary Egmont Constituency Association and long time organizer for the Alberta Alliance. David Crutcher is also a member of the federal Conservatives and was an active member in the Canadian Alliance. In his capacity with the PGIB David Crutcher has had extensive experience and has dealt with the labyrinth of red tape thrown at him by bureaucrats and politicians at all levels. David also got more percentage of votes for the Alberta Alliance than any other candidate in an urban riding.

Over the past 4 years David has been involved in numerous political campaigns for other candidates. David is married to Mary Crutcher and has five grown children Lisa, Fiona, Sarah, Stephen and Michael.



Paul Hinman:
Paul Hinman was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Alberta for the constituency of Cardston-Taber-Warner on November 22, 2004.

Mr. Hinman was born in Edmonton in 1959. Since the age of eight, he has been active in scouting and has maintained his involvement with the program through leadership roles as an adult. He first became interested in politics through his mentor and grandfather, the Hon. E.W. (Ted) Hinman, who served as Provincial Treasurer in the Earnest Manning government of Alberta from 1955 to 1964 and Minister of Municipal Affairs from 1954 to 1955.

Mr. Hinman is the first Alberta Alliance member to be elected to the Legislative Assembly. He served as vice-president of policy for the party from its founding convention on February 14, 2002, until he became deputy leader, on January 08, 2005. He is also a board member for the Conservative Party of Canada in the electoral district of Lethbridge. He was previously an active member of the Federal Reform Party of Canada, serving on policy and election committees. Prior to becoming a Member of the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Hinman was successful irrigation farmer, cow-calf producer, purebred-cattle breeder, feedlot operator and small-business entrepreneur. He received honor awards in high school and was accepted into the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy after graduation.



Ed Klop:
Mr. Klop stated: "It is both an honour and humbling to run for the leadership of the Alberta Alliance Party. The party has made amazing progress in three short years. We achieved a very respectable 9% of the vote in last November’s election while electing Paul Hinman as an MLA. This is a tremendous foundation for the future and it is now time to take the party to the next level, which is why I am committing myself full time to building the party."

"In the 2004 election the Tories lost 33% of their 2001 vote while the Liberals and NDP simply got out their supporters and remained static. Analysis indicates that the Liberals and NDP have little room for growth in the province; the Alberta Alliance however has a tremendous opportunity ahead and is the party of the future."

"We are at a unique time in the history of Alberta. A time that calls for vision and leadership, attributes that are missing in the Klein government. Record setting oil and natural gas prices has created the greatest economic boom in the history of the province. Unfortunately, it is also allowed the largest, most reckless expansion in government spending in the history of Alberta. Government spending has doubled in the last eight years to unfathomable levels yet health care waiting lists have also doubled in the same period. Additionally, we have a serious infrastructure deficit and classrooms are in disarray. Perhaps most frightening, we have an elitist government that has blocked every effort at democratic reform, purposefully removing Albertans from involvement in the affairs of their government.

"Alberta has serious problems during a time of unprecedented opportunity. It is because of the mismanagement of the Klein government, a government that has absolutely no idea where they want to go or how to get there. I am running because there has to be a change in government, there has to be a new team with a real vision. It is clear to me what that vision should be; I will be releasing my vision for the future of Alberta as the campaign progresses."

Biography:
Ed Klop is 38 years old. He has been married to Sherry Lee Klop for 9 years. Ed is the Founder and President of Klop Construction an award winning construction company based in Red Deer