OLDS – Tara Sawyer has won the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection, according to unofficial results released by Elections Alberta on Monday.
Sawyer, the UCP candidate, faced off against Alberta NDP candidate Bev Toews, Republican Party of Alberta candidate Cam Davies, and Wild Rose Loyalty Coalition candidate Bill Tufts.
The June 23 byelection was held to replace former UCP MLA Nathan Cooper, who resigned to become the province’s representative in Washington, D.C.
With 90 per cent of polls reporting, Sawyer had garnered 8,593 votes, compared with 2,858 for Toews, 2,417 for Davies and 169 for Tufts.
During a June 17 candidates forum in Olds, Sawyer said she plans to be a voice for the riding in areas such as health care and education.
“We need strong health care across this province,” she said.
“We have a large senior population in our riding and we need to make sure they are taken care of. We need to take care of our children. We need to make sure we are the ones that are having our values and our families dictating what happens to them.”
Sawyer, whose family farms near Acme, said she plans to be accountable to constituency residents.
“I want to hear from you and that’s a commitment,” she said.
