Moose Jaw was the first official stop on Kathryn Pollack’s tour of the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency as she attempts to gain recognition in her quest to be the riding’s next Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidate.
The Moose Jaw Cultural Centre hosted Pollack’s meet-and-greet on June 9, which featured several stand-up cocktail tables scattered throughout the main floor with posters and other literature about the Lumsden-area woman.
The meet-and-greet was meant to be a casual event and was held on Main Street to attract people who might be passing by. The event — and all future public gatherings — followed all pandemic-related guidelines, with physical distance and mask-wearing in place.
“Today, I’m meeting people in Moose Jaw. I’m using this as a first opportunity to get out in front of folks here, meet as many people as I can over the next little while, and really demonstrate that I’m here to commit to the constituents of the riding,” Pollack said.
“(I’m also here to) hear from people (and) listen to people about what the top pressing issues are for them. And also give them a sense of who I am. There’s nothing like meeting someone in the flesh to get across who someone is and what they really stand for.”
Moose Jaw is important to winning the candidacy since the community contains more than 50 per cent of all eligible voters in the constituency, said Pollack. If she successfully becomes the CPC candidate, she plans to establish a constituency office in The Friendly City and set up satellite offices elsewhere in the riding to be accessible to other people.
Pollack has reached out for advice to Tom Lukiwski, the incumbent of the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency who plans to retire after 17 years as Member of Parliament. She has spoken with him several times over the past few months and has received much support and guidance. However, he will remain neutral through the race since he is still the acting MP.
“But I think the other piece (is) it’s really important to surround yourself with a really strong team, like anything in life,” she continued. “One person can’t do things alone, so I have a really strong team around me. It’s an interesting mix of some really seasoned veterans … and then also some new folks … bringing that fresh perspective and excitement as well.”
Besides Pollack, Brad Trost and Clark Puckett have entered the nomination race. (The Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com will have more on Puckett soon.) Pollack thought it was healthy for multiple candidates to step forward but planned to focus on herself and her campaign.
“This is a really interesting opportunity to participate in the democratic process. A lot of us take this phase for granted.”
The electoral district association for the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency has not yet set a date for when party members can vote for the new candidate. However, Pollack pointed out that many federal parties are beginning to fill empty seats across the country and lock in candidates in preparation for the fall.
While most of the House of Commons voted recently not to hold an election during the pandemic, there’s no reason not to be prepared if the governing party decides to pull the plug and call an election.
Visit www.kathrynpollack.ca for more information.
