EDMONTON — Former UCP nomination candidate and current Stettler Town Councillor Dusty Myshrall announced his intention to enter the party's Drumheller-Stettler nomination on Wednesday, claiming that he wants to make sure the riding continues to have a "strong voice." "My wife, Reagan, and I are raising our children here, the sixth generation of our family to call Stettler home," wrote Myshrall in a Facebook post. "That is why this campaign is about building a future where families can stay, businesses can grow, and communities across our riding can thrive.".Myshrall announced that he will now look to replace former Finance Minister Nate Horner as Drumheller-Stettler's UCP representative in Alberta's 2027 election, after Horner said he will not be seeking re-election. "Community service is part of who I am," Myshrall wrote. "Having served as a paramedic, President of the Alberta Paramedic Association and practicing flight paramedic for more than two decades, and now as Town Councillor for Stettler — I know I bring the right experience to the table to effectively address our community’s needs.""My pledge to you is to never lose sight of that — I feel it because I live these issues every day, too." Every resident has a role to play in building "our rural way of life," according to Myshrall, and the nomination candidate claimed he is looking forward to knocking on doors and earning the support of the riding's constituents. .Myshrall competed in the Lacombe-Ponoka UCP nomination race ahead of Alberta's 2023 election, but he fell to the eventual MLA Jennifer Johnson after finishing second with 21.5% of the votes.Johnson spent a year as an independent MLA after Premier Danielle Smith opted not to allow her into the UCP caucus following an audio clip in which she compared schools producing transgender children to mixing feces into cookies. Myshrall came to Johnson's defence after a video of a transgender activist berating the MLA circulated online in September 2024 while she was in the midst of trying to reconcile with members of the sexual minorities community. "In this specific video, MLA Johnson conducted herself with class and respectful compassion, all while under a tremendous amount of public pressure," wrote Myshrall. "She ought to be commended for that. While we don't always agree, I know her heart is in the right place and believe she is acting in good faith." "MLA Johnson carried herself with class in this video, and it is regrettable that she was not always treated with respect. The particular 2-minute clip does not appear to be a productive engagement. Let's have room to respectfully disagree while still working in the same direction." He then went on to thank Johnson for her commitment in fighting for her constituents, and encouraged the UCP MLAs to vote her into the caucus at their next meeting, which they did.
