Garth Rowswell hosted an Open House for the United Conservative Party (UCP) at the Vermilion Super 8 Hotel on September 4. He also held one in Lloydminster on September 5, and one in Wainwright on September 6. Rowswell is a nomination contestant for the Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright Constituency, and enjoyed the opportunity to meet with constituents discussing their concerns and sharing why he wants to serve. A lot of encouragement was given for constituents to register as a member of the UCP. “Memberships are needed right away because they have to be registered 21 days before polling begins and the voting for nominations takes place. There will be three polling stations in the constituency; one in Vermilion, one in Lloydminster, and one in Wainwright, and they are expected sometime in October,” said Rowswell. He mentioned that there are currently four nomination candidates registered with Elections Alberta, and that they may see as many as six people running. The new constituency boundaries include the County of Vermilion River and the M.D. of Wainwright. Rowswell has enjoyed introducing himself to constituents, and recalled going to a chili cook-off in Edgerton, and knocking on doors in Chauvin and Wainwright. “People are people; they’ve got similar problems,” said Rowswell. A main topic of discussion at the Open House was rural crime. He noted that he knew it was an issue and was grateful for suggestions of what to do. According to Rowswell, a retired RCMP officer attended and mentioned that the largest deterrent to rural crime is the fear of apprehension. Rowswell believes that policies are important to get right because they can have a significant impact on our lives. He explained that this might mean different things to different people. “I would like to represent a model that would have more limited involvement by government. This would require a cost-benefit analysis to be done on everything government does. It would then need to be made public and determined whether or not government needs to be involved, and if it does it should be done in the most productive way,” said Rowswell. To register to be a member you can visit unitedconservative.ca or call 780-853-6119.