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M.L. mayor seeks Tory nomination for Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River riding

Oct 3, 2018 | 5:12 PM

The mayor of Meadow Lake said he feels a compulsion to put his name into the ring to seek the Conservative party nomination for the riding of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River.

Speaking to meadowlakeNOW, Gary Vidal said he finds himself increasingly frustrated with the policies and direction of the current federal government.

“I kept telling myself that somebody has to do something about this and I came to a place where I decided I am somebody,” he said. “It is the desire I have to see a change at the federal level and the fact that I feel I have the opportunity to make a difference and bring about some change.”

Vidal was born and raised in Meadow Lake and always called the region home. He was elected mayor in 2011 and has worked day to day since 1988 as an accountant and partner at Pliska Vidal & Co. He also spent nearly a decade on the SaskWater board of directors, only recently resigning the role.

Vedal already has backing from Chief Jeremy Norman of the Flying Dust First Nation. He was appreciative and said it was an honour for Norman to voice support, which Vidal credited to his pursuit of building positive relationships among people in the area.

“We are better when we work together than if we work opposed to each other,” Vidal said.

In a news release sent out Wednesday, Chief Norman called Vidal a “friend to the Flying Dust First Nation.”

“Gary has always been very honest with us and if he couldn’t help he told us so but when he could he has been in 100 per cent,” Norman said in the release, noting Vidal also coached his children in various sports.

Vidal and his wife Lori spent the better part of last week in Ottawa to gather a sense of “what this world could look like if we were to be successful in this journey.” He said he would not have put his name forward if she did not back him entirely.

The nomination hopeful asked those interested in supporting his endeavour to step forward, stressing the need to work together as a group of people to accomplish the desired outcome.

No official date has been set for the party to name its nominee for the riding. Canadians are scheduled to head to the polls for the next federal election on Oct. 21, 2019.

 

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr