Premier Ed Stelmach

Having barely won the most votes in a three man race, but still shy of 50%, it took the 2nd choice ballots of Ted Morton supporters to push him in to the Premier's chair .  Stelmach finished third last week, but received the endorsements of virtually all the candidates who dropped off the ballot.  Final totals were Stelmach 77,577 Dinning 51,282 (with Morton's second choice ballots added)

 

This is truly a stunner.  Who is Ed Stelmach?  I guess he's the guy who isn't as radical as Ted Morton and not as liberal as Jim Dinning (although maybe Dinning got a raw deal on that count - if he was running federally he'd be called a radical right winger.  It's just that compared to Morton he was a liberal).

 

How crazy is this:  But from the beginning of the campaign, he also was described as "everybody's second choice."  That's exactly the way Dion was described in that other race on Saturday.  So two third place guys end up winning it all on the same day.  Unbelievable!

 

As far as policy, Stelmach got a D+ from the TaxPayers Federation (same as Dinning), and his website is here . 

 

Will we see Alberta go in a new direction?  I doubt it.  I think this is largely status quo, without the personal antics of King Ralph.  Time will tell.