The Airdrie-East Riding will have a chance to vote for the NDP in the upcoming provincial election with the candidate Roxie Baez Zamora

Baez Zamora says she is running because she believes that her background has given her the qualities to run.

"When I started looking into the opportunity I was like 'well, you know what, we need leaders' and thanks to having worked with so many wonderful people throughout construction, I was able to come across people from all walks of life. You become relatable, you understand their concerns, you can understand their issues and I believe in this upcoming election Albertans have a pretty big decision to make. Especially for us, the working people, there's a lot at stake and I just looked at myself and I was like 'I think it's time for us to stand up and start fighting for the things that are at stake, the things like our wages and our health, like all of our services."

According to Baez Zamora, Notley's team offered the best leadership of the potential parties.

"The reason I decided to run for Rachel Notley's team is because, I mean, I believe she's a fantastic leader. She's out there working to build the leaders that this province needs to be in Alberta that's going to work for everybody. I mean, some people out there, they will argue that she's one of the best leaders that has come since Peter Lougheed. He believes that as politicians we should listen some more and I believe she is listening to Albertans. She knows what Albertans need. She's fighting for what we need to continue to move forward, to diversify our economies, to just have enough classrooms for our children, (and) just to prepare for a better future."

Baez Zamora is actually not an Airdrie citizen but rather lives in north Calgary.

"Me and my partner, actually, he has a couple of children and we live really close, like in (north Calgary), pretty much at the end of the city. We always looked at where to move, because he does have a couple of kids and we're on the process of bringing them over and he's like 'yeah, babe, I like Calgary but Airdrie's awesome, it's such a young city, it has so much energy, it's filled with young families'. It would be a fantastic place to raise children, so we're already looking into relocating and stuff, and I believe that if I get sent up and turn this community into what I want to raise my kids in, that's what I'm here for."

She believes this to be an advantage, due to her being apart from any bias gained from living in the city.

"In a sense, yes, because you are a little less impartial to what you have lived when you live here. When I come here, I come and to approach people from all places. I go to the small business, I'm talking to other people on the Board of Education. I can't wait, I'm going to continue go to the continuing care facility that our Premier has invested on. I want to talk to the people. Sometimes, when you've been inside the box for too long, it's hard to look around and appreciate everything that is happening around you. "

"But I am super looking forward to move here. I'm so excited. Everybody that I talk here, it's so nice. Yeah, I like it."

After the Writ dropped, Baez Zamora says she started knocking doors and putting up signs.

"That's pretty much our approach to this, trying to reach out to people and educate them. Educate them (about) what's in stake, what (we have) been doing. They have a choice to make, and that's all we can do really."

Baez Zamora says she has been hearing the concern of the people she talks to during her campaign.

"(I'm hearing) their concern. They are supporters, they know what we have been doing and they have been showing some very strong support and they're out there for us. The people that are a little bit more on the fence, I believe they need a little more education. Their concerns about their leaders are putting forwards a proposal for their platform, especially a lot of people that works in the health sector. (...) I found it interesting because I actually brought forward what we've been doing, especially the health care facility here in Airdrie, it was turned into a 24 hour, we are investing in continuous care, education, all of that stuff and all of the people that don't (...) usually support the NDP, they're not aware of this but they are concerned that their leader's agenda is not on their best interest. So, education. I think we need to educate our people because it's going to be a pretty important decision."

She says she believes the election is about who the leaders are and just how good they are at leading a community.

"...I believe that nowadays it's about the leaders, it's about like... I know a lot of people has tend to, you know, commit to the parties or whatever, but I think we need to take a very good look at the leaders and make a choice because it's going to be affecting everybody."

With her door-to-door knocking, Baez Zamora hoped to educate the residents of Airdrie as to who properly represents them.

"We're trying to... how you call that, I guess convince? Convince people that they need participate (and) they need to get involved because there a lot of people that don't even want to vote. And it's pretty sad. It's like the most important part of the democratic process, right? So I believe that getting people involved is another one of the biggest priorities on our strategy going forward."

As far as her own campaign, Baez Zamora believes infrastructure, healthcare, and education to be among the most important issues to be addressed.

"Healthcare. Healthcare, and as much as our government has put a lot of effort into the infrastructure for (...) the schools and whatnot, (...) I believe that if Jason Kenney was to get in power with all of his proposals for education cuts and stuff, it doesn't matter how much work we've done if we're just going to start going backwards because those questions, they might be there but if there's no teachers, what's the point? So I believe that's one of the main concerns," says Baez Zamora. "Healthcare, education, infrastructure. Especially in Airdrie, with the massive growth, it has seen in the last ten years and the people actually having to go to Calgary all the time. A lot of the residents in Airdrie go to Calgary to work, right? And the overpasses are a concern and something we are wanting to advocate for and make it a safer place for everyone who lives here."

 

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