june nomination blitz.

- June 16 is the date of the Conservative nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona. Linda Blade, Ryan Hastman, and Cathay Wagantall have spent the last month duking it out for the opportunity to run against NDP MP Linda Duncan.

- June 22 is the date of the Alberta Liberal nomination in Calgary-Glenmore that will see Corey Hogan and Avalon Roberts face off for the right to carry their party's banner into the upcoming by-election to replace former PC MLA Ron Stevens.

- June 23 is the date of the Wild Rose Alliance nomination meeting in Calgary-Glenmore. It looks as if outgoing leader and former Cardston-Taber-Warner MLA Paul Hinman may be the only candidate to seek the nod.

- Danielle Smith: Wild Rose Renaissance? One blogger is boldly predicting that she is "the greatest threat to the Tory dynasty in Alberta since Laurence Decore."

- Former Ontario NDP MPP, nearly interested Liberal, and now Calgary Mayoral candidate George Dadamo will soon be accepting applications for new campaign staff.

- The Alberta NDP hosted a revitalization conference in Edmonton last weekend. I am told that BC MP Nathan Cullen knocked the socks off the over 100 attendees with a rousing speech. Union orgainzer Eric Carpendale has been appointed as the NDP candidate for the upcoming Calgary-Glenmore by-election.

new schools, bill 203, ndp conference, & preston manning.

- A new school in the Pilot Sound neighbourhood of North East Edmonton will be named after former School Trustee and Edmonton-Mill Woods MLA Don Massey. Massey was elected to Edmonton's Public School Board from 1977 to 1989, and to the Alberta Legislature from 1993 to 2004. Massey served as Interim Leader of the Liberal Official Opposition between the resignation of Lethbridge-East MLA Ken Nicol and election of Edmonton-Riverview MLA Kevin Taft.

- Naheed Nenshi has some great commentary on Athabasca-Redwater PC MLA Jeff Johnson's Bill 203 (including special content on Calgary-Glenmore PC heir-apparent Diane Colley-Urquhart).

- The Alberta NDP will be hosting a revitalization conference in Edmonton on June 6. Speakers include Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen, Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda Duncan, Edmonton NDP MLAs Brian Mason & Rachel Notley. Child-care critic Notley scored a big win this week after releasing leaked emails showing that 'front-line workers were being told not to let potential subsidy recipients know about changes to the application process unless asked.'

- Former Reform Party leader Preston Manning has some strong words for Albertans.

- University of Alberta student Matthew Sztym has joined Ryan Hastman and Linda Blade in race to become the Conservative candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona.

jaffer out of edmonton-strathcona race.

After having declared his intention to seek a rematch against NDP MP Linda Duncan in Edmonton-Strathcona, former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer has bowed out of his party's nomination race.

Tory nominations drive Jaffer from politics
Former MP gives up on his ambitions after being shut out of Edmonton riding in favour of PMO staffer

JENNIFER DITCHBURN
The Canadian Press
May 7, 2009 at 6:53 PM EDT

OTTAWA — Former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer is giving up on his political ambitions for now, after Tory sources say he was effectively shut out of the nomination process in his Edmonton riding.

A staffer in the Prime Minister's Office is one of the contestants in that race.

“My understanding is that the party does not want him to run,” said a Conservative source. “The party is doing what the party does.”

Mr. Jaffer, a former caucus chair, told the party in a letter last month that he intended to run in Edmonton-Strathcona to win back the riding he narrowly lost last fall to the NDP. [Read more]

Candidates for the Conservative nomination include Ryan Hastman, Linda Blade, and Cathay Wagantall.

(h/t @MrBWH)

linda blade enters edmonton-strathcona conservative contest.

Ryan Hastman, Cathay Wagantall, and former MP Rahim Jaffer have been joined by another candidate in the race for the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona.

Ottewell resident Linda Blade is the newest contender to enter the contest. Blade is currently the Sports Performance Manager at the Royal Glenora Club, has a PhD in Kinesiology, and was the Conditioning Coach to 2002 Canadian Olympic Gold Medalists Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. Her nomination campaign manager is Brad Fournier, who also managed Rona Ambrose's 2008 re-election campaign in Edmonton-Spruce Grove.

NDP MP Linda Duncan has represented Edmonton-Strathcona since defeating Jaffer in October 2008.