Since he was the only one letting his name stand for the New Democrats in the Airdrie-Cochrane riding, Steven Durrell knew it was just a matter of time before he officially became the party's nominee.  Now, that time has arrived.  

The 29-year-old Cochrane native was officially acclaimed as the NDP nominee in the new riding at a nomination meeting last night (January 31) in the Frank Wills Memorial Hall in Cochrane.  He says he's more than ready to officially start campaigning.

"I'm super excited to get out there as the candidate and start talking to people and being able to introduce myself in that context, rather than just 'seeking nomination.'  Absolutely, I'm looking forward to really being able to get the campaign started here."

Durrell, a father of three, is a former student at Bow Valley High School in Cochrane who now works for Telus.  He is the Executive Officer for the United Steel Workers and has been active with the NDP in various capacities for several years.  Durrell explains that his campaign will be a many-pronged affair.  He plans to do a lot of door knocking.  "I really like knocking on doors, it's my personal favourite part of the campaign.  It gives you an opportunity to meet people face to face and I find that to be the most valuable experience in the campaign."

Durrell has already started doing some door knocking in parts of the constituency and says he's been pleased with the reception he's received.

I've received an incredibly positive response.  One major thing that I've heard, particularly from people in Airdrie, is concerns about the need for continued funding of schools and building of new schools and teachers and staff to keep those schools functioning and keep class sizes down.  It was actually a recurring theme  that I've heard when talking to people."

He says while the theme of schools has also come up in Cochrane, another infrastructure project which has already been approved for the town is one that has many people nervous.  That's the Highway 1-A and Highway 22 interchange that the NDP government has already given the go-ahead to.

"The town has secured provincial funding for it, the people here want to see that continue to make sure that project actually comes to completion.  It's been an infrastructure issue since I was a kid here.  It's a critical thing to the people here that we continue to see the infrastructure spending to see that projects like that go forward, that mid-sized cities like Cochrane and Airdrie continue to have that support from the provincial government to make those projects a reality.  When my UCP opponent was nominated here, he said they couldn't guarantee that that spending would continue for that particular project.  Myself and the provincial government currently have committed to making sure that the funding does continue in the future."

Durrell, being a younger candidate, also plans to use social media extensively and he hopes that some debates will be organized in the riding.

Premier Rachel Notley must set a date for the election of between March 1st and May 31st, 2019.  

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