Barry Morishita during a visit to Grande Prairie City Hall in August of 2019 (Photo: Shaun Penner / EverythingGP staff)

By Chris Brown

Barry Morishita

Brooks mayor to run for Alberta Party leadership

Aug 19, 2021 | 10:36 AM

Brooks Mayor Barry Morishita will not seek re-election this fall but his time in politics is not over.

Morishita wants to make the move to provincial politics, and is running for the leadership of the Alberta Party.

He told Brooks City Council his plans on Monday, the same day he resigned as president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.

He says Alberta’s two major political parties are too rooted in ideology. The Alberta Party appeals to him because it is rooted in community and wants to bring a different way of making decisions and governing to the province.

“Whether it’s health-care, education, economic development, social services, there are unique communities in Alberta,” said Morishita.

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“I’ve been to them, I’ve listened to what their issues are and in my time at AUMA we never dealt with an issue that we didn’t have a solution for and those solutions are born with collaboration from our community members,” he continued. “As a result, I think I understand that approach, I know that approach works and the next step is to be in a position to implement them or be in a position to influence the implementation of them and that’s what we’re going to do.”

He adds that if he does become leader he plans to visit every community in the province before the next provincial election, which will take place no later than the spring of 2023.

The party held three seats in the legislature when the 2019 election was called. It lost all three.

He says to get them back and hopefully win more will require policies that resonate with Albertans. Those policies will come out in the weeks and months to come, he adds.

“You have to listen to what they say, think about their commitments and how their communities are shaped and built and what they need to provide good quality of life. Then you’ve got to work together to provide it,” Morishita says. “Albertans will have some serious change to consider.”

(CHAT News Today)