John Middleton-Hope, a Lethbridge city councillor, will represent the United Conservative Party in the Lethbridge-West byelection.
Middleton-Hope, a former police officer and Lethbridge police chief, won the nomination Monday in the first round “by the narrowest margin possible,” said Lethbridge-West riding president Davey Wiggers. Two other candidates contested the UCP nomination: Erin Leclerc, a former constituency office manager for both Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf and Lethbridge MP Rachel Thomas, and Shauna Gruninger, a Lethbridge real estate agent.
Middleton-Hope received 249 votes to Leclerc’s 193 and Gruninger’s 51, according to results provided to Postmedia.
On social media, the United Conservative Party of Alberta congratulated Middleton-Hope, saying that with his law enforcement and city council background he “has the experience to deliver real results for Lethbridge-West.”
Premier Danielle Smith added on social media: “The United Conservatives of Lethbridge-West have nominated John Middleton-Hope as their new candidate to reclaim this seat and add another common-sense voice to our team.”
Smith has yet to announce a date for the byelection, which must be called by the end of the year. .