Nearly 1,000 people have signed a petition Mauri Stiff wants to present to the Alberta Legislature to ensure the Hwy. 1A-Hwy. 22 interchange reconstruction goes ahead on schedule.

Stiff, who is seeking the United Conservative Party (UCP) nomination for the Airdrie-Cochrane riding, says there has been strong support for the petition she's been circulating while campaigning in the riding and wants to see at least 5,000 signatures collected before it is presented in the Legislature.

To be valid, signatures must be signed in person and that means lots of footwork for Stiff.

"It's a harder way to do it but it's more effective and people will see that there is support."

The interchange is currently in the design stage and on track to meet the schedule announced by the Alberta government in April 2017, but she fears there are too many "ifs" and wants to continue to bring attention to the importance of the project for the entire region.

"People are starting to see what potentially could be going on with it," says Stiff. "We just want to raise awareness that it could be bumped again and we want to make sure it stays on track regardless of what government is in power and that it carries forward as a priority."

Stiff was in Cochrane on the weekend as she continues to build momentum towards the upcoming vote to determine who will represent the UCP in the first election for the newly-created Cochrane-Airdrie riding. She's already visited 80 per cent of the rural areas in the riding and continues to frequently campaign both Cochrane and Airdrie.

So far, five candidates for the UCP Airdrie-Cochrane nomination have filed papers with Elections Canada. The deadline has already passed to request a nomination form and all applications must be submitted by this Thursday, Sept. 27, at 5 p.m.

The new riding seems to be garnering quite a bit of interest among potential UCP candidates.  Ian Chitwood, Peter Guthrie, Morgan Nagel, Mauri Stiff and Laura Talsma have filed nomination papers with Elections Alberta. 

The constituency association has established polling stations for their upcoming vote at both the Golden Rod Hall and Cochrane RancheHouse. Qualifying party members vote on Oct. 18 at the Golden Rod Hall and Oct. 20 in Cochrane. Polls at both locations will be open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

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Mauri Stiff Launches Petition to Ensure Interchange is Completed