Eighteen months of steady campaigning paid off for Chantelle de Jong, who will represent Chestermere-Strathmore under the UCP banner in May’s provincial election..The public policy researcher received 1,118 votes (63%) at Saturday’s nomination meeting. Her opponent Dharminder Premi, president of SoftForward Technologies Inc., received 663 votes..“We earned a decisive mandate for true conservative representation in Chestermere-Strathmore,” said de Jong, former president of the Calgary Dental Assistants Association, who has a bachelor’s degree with distinction in economics and philosophy from the University of Calgary..“I’m humbled and overwhelmed to have earned the trust and support of UCP members in Chestermere-Strathmore.”.The constituency was represented by Leela Aheer who opted not to seek re-election. Aheer ran unsuccessfully in October’s UCP leadership race..De Jong thanked Premi, his team, and supporters for a “hard-fought” campaign..“Saturday was a major victory, but we’re not done. I’m excited to get to work to keep Chestermere-Strathmore blue and form a strong conservative majority government with our party in next spring’s election.”.So far, de Jong only faces the NDP’s Raj Jessel in the general election. Jessel, a transit operator, has served as an executive board member with the local ATU 583, and president of the Calgary School of Drama and Arts.
