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Craig Cheffins

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Craig Cheffins
MLA for Calgary-Elbow
In office
June 12, 2007 – March 3, 2008
Preceded byRalph Klein
Succeeded byAlison Redford
Personal details
Born1954 or 1955 (age 69–70)[1]
Political partyLiberal

Craig Cheffins is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the Calgary-Elbow riding. Running as a Liberal, he won the seat in a 2007 by-election, but lost the seat in the 2008 general election.

Political life

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A by-election was called to replace former premier Ralph Klein, who vacated the seat, after retiring as premier of Alberta.[2][3] He was considered a "prime candidate" in the by-election, according to Don Braid, of the Calgary Herald.,[2] and won the by-election by approximately 800 votes. The constituency had previously elected Progressive Conservative candidates in every election and by-election since 1971.

Previously Cheffins was the president of the Calgary community of Lakeview and involved in the West Hillhurst community associations.[2] He was also active in prior Liberal party campaigns.[2]

Cheffins was an active member of the Weaselhead Preservation Society.[4]

Cheffins lost the provincial election on March 3, 2008.

On September 11, 2008 Craig Cheffins announced he was supporting Dave Taylor for the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party, and would be taking on the role of Campaign Co-Chair for that effort.[5]

Election results

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2008 Alberta general election: Calgary-Elbow
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Alison Redford 6,130 42.08 +3.75
Liberal Craig Cheffins 5,711 39.20 −6.57
Wildrose Alliance Dale Nelson 963 6.61 +2.44
Independent Barry Erskine 948 6.51
Green Jonathon Sheffield 526 3.61 −1.99
New Democratic Garnet Wilcox 290 1.99 −1.31
Total valid votes 14,568 100.00
Total rejected ballots 77
Turnout 14,645 45.84
Eligible voters 31,947
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +5.16%


Alberta provincial by-election, June 12, 2007: Calgary-Elbow
Resignation of Ralph Klein on January 15, 2007
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Craig Cheffins 4,823 45.77 +9.24
Progressive Conservative Brian Heninger 4,039 38.33 −13.15
Green George Read 590 5.60 +0.66
Alberta Alliance Jane Morgan 439 4.17 +0.56
New Democratic Al Brown 348 3.30 +0.75
Social Credit Trevor Grover 175 1.66 +1.15
Independent Jeff Willerton 124 1.17
Total valid votes 10,538
Rejected, spoiled and declined 13 25 3
Eligible electors / turnout 30,538 34.64
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +11.20
Source(s)
Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2007). Report on the June 12, 2007 By-elections: Calgary-Elbow & Drumheller-Stettler (Report). Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta; Chief Electoral Officer. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

Career

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Cheffins' employer at the time of the 2007 by-election was Mount Royal College (MRC), where he was the Work Experience Coordinator of the Justice Studies department.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Calgary-Elbow 'up for grabs'". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Braid, Don (16 May 2007). "Liberal undercurrent runs deep". Calgary Herald. CanWest Global Communications. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  3. ^ McLean, Archie (16 May 2007). "Opposition eager to contest byelections: Liberals sense new weakness in Calgary Elbow riding now that Klein is out of the picture". Edmonton Journal. CanWest Global Communications. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  4. ^ Saelhof, Todd (14 May 2007). "Grit feels Tories on de-Klein". Calgary Sun. Sun Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  5. ^ Dave Taylor Leadership Campaign (11 September 2008). "Craig Cheffins Announced as Co-Chair - Teams up with Dave on Leadership Bid". Archived from the original on 22 September 2008.
  6. ^ Services, Enrolment (2007). "MRCalendar2007-2008" (PDF). Mount Royal College. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
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