Newly elected MLAs Greg Lawrence and Warren Michelson

We're counting down the Top 5 Local News Stories of 2011 today and we're at #3 on the list.  But in case you missed them, in at #5 was the K+S Potash mine being announced north of Moose Jaw and #4 was the new hospital announcement.

At #3, the provincial election. The November vote was a huge blow to the NDP as the party lost more than just seats in the Legislature.   They lost their leader Dwain Lingenfelter and Deputy Leader Deb Higgins who failed to retain their ridings when the results were released. 

While the official campaign only lasted for a month, the back and forth between the NDP and Saskatchewan Party started during the summer. The first shot that caught media attention from across the province came in the form of a radio advertisement. A simple audio recording of Premier Brad Wall allegedly saying he doesn't care about the rising cost of living in Saskatchewan.

In the advertisement, the radio voice asks the question, "When working families ask for help with the rising cost of living, what is Brad Wall's response?"  Then the ad cuts to a clip of Premier Brad Wall during a scrum with reporters.  "I don't really care. We're not going to do it and they're coming back to work."

It turned out the clip was a fake and was actually spliced together from two different answers to two different questions and was made to sound like it was an answer to the question posed in the advertisement.  At the time Regina Dewdney MLA Kevin Yates said the ad would continue to run but it was yanked in the days that followed. 

The Saskatchewan Party won the election three months later with 49 out of the 58 seats in the Legislature and the NDP would start the new four year term without one of their key members in Deb Higgins.  As we mentioned off the top, Higgins lost her race for her home riding of Moose Jaw Wakamow.  Greg Lawrence finished with just over 200 votes more than the long time NDP MLA.

Although visually upset with the loss, she remained strong and chose not to dwell on it. "It's been a life altering experience and it's been a pleasure to serve this community. You can't argue with voters and they made their choice and that's good. Life goes on."

Higgins is still contemplating her future with the party and has told us she plans to take her time.

Moose Jaw North MLA Warren Michelson won his race to keep the title. After winning the riding by just 33 votes in 2007, Michelson ran away from the competition this past November, outpacing the NDP's Derek Hassen by 1748 votes when the results were released.

 

Top 5 Local Stories - #4
Top 5 Local Stories - #5