Mazier optimistic about campaign
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- Published on Monday, July 30, 2018
Former KAP president running for the vacant conservative spot
Submitted photo
Former KAP president Dan Mazier is making a run for the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
While the federal election is still a full 15 months away, Dan Mazier has already spent a fair amount of time hitting the campaign trail, all in an effort is simply earn the right to do it all over again in 2019. Earlier this month, the 54-year-old from Justice put his name forward as a Conservative Party of Canada nominee for the soon to be vacant seat in the Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa electoral riding. Mazier is looking to fill the position currently held by Robert Sopuck, who announced back in May that he will not run in the next federal election.
In an interview the Banner & Press, Mazier noted that as soon as Sopuck’s decision was announced, his own phone started to ring, with various individuals urging him to put his name forward to fill the vacancy.
“It was friends and former colleagues that I have worked with over the years who gave me a call, bringing to my attention Bob’s decision to not seek re-election. They said it was a window of opportunity if I was so inclined to let my name stand,” said Mazier. “This was something that I had not previously considered. But many different friends and people had noted that through my work as Keystone Agricultural Producers [KAP] president, I had worked alongside many people both a federal and provincial level. They felt that wealth of experience is what our district needs. The last eight years with KAP has, in a way been training for this, so after some consideration, I thought our riding did need some good voices in Ottawa and I could be that voice.”
As a part of this process, the now former Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president has been traveling all across the riding, gathering memberships for the party. Over the course of this journey, Mazier said that this opportunity to speak with people has been tremendous.
“It’s been about three weeks for us, traveling across the region gathering memberships, because that’s part of the nomination process. Because you are essentially applying for the job of being the conservative nominee. So you go out to all these different communities and speak with people from all walks of life. The response has been positive. There's obviously some who aren’t interested in signing up and that’s understandable. Some saying ‘I’m not a political person.’ and I respect that. But even then, just talking with them and learning about their communities and what they are concerned about has been a valuable experience,” noted Mazier. “For those who are perhaps unfamiliar with my background, I hope they will give me a chance and get to know me. That’s all I’m asking. This entire process right now isn’t about putting your support into a political party. That’s for the election next year. This is just about supporting me. That is all any of this is about right now. This is just about supporting me and giving me the chance to represent them.”
