Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark has signed up Alison Redford’s former campaign strategist to help him win the former premier’s old riding.

Clark — who intends to run in the upcoming Calgary-Elbow byelection — announced Tuesday that he had enlisted Stephen Carter, strategist for Redford during her leadership campaign and for the Progressive Conservatives in the 2012 provincial election, as part of his campaign team.

Also on board is Corey Hogan, campaign manager for the provincial Liberals in 2012, as well as a number of past provincial PC, federal Liberal and federal Green volunteers. There are also several veterans of Naheed Nenshi’s mayoral campaigns and one former member of Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith’s constituency board.

Former mayoral candidate Wayne Stewart also is working for Clark.

“I am confident this team knows what it takes to get elected,” said Clark in a news release.

“They have taken underdog campaigns and created winning campaigns.”

Redford stepped down as premier and PC leader in March in the face of a caucus revolt over her expenses and management style. She resigned her Calgary-Elbow seat in August just ahead of a scathing auditor general’s report.

Carter — who was also a key figure in Nenshi’s 2010 mayoral campaign — served as Redford’s chief of staff after she won the Tory leadership in 2011 but stepped down to help run the 2012 provincial PC campaign. He later received $130,000 in severance.

The Alberta Party has never won a legislature seat. No date has yet been set for a byelection in Calgary-Elbow though it is expected to be hotly contested.

However, Premier-designate Jim Prentice — who needs a seat in the legislature after winning the Tory leadership on the weekend — has said he won’t run in the riding.

The Opposition Wildrose said Tuesday that Prentice is wasting taxpayer dollars by forcing a veteran MLA to step aside for a second byelection instead of running in the seat that is already vacant.

“All indications so far suggest Mr. Prentice is determined to avoid running in a constituency he is not guaranteed to win,” said Wildrose MLA Rob Anderson.

It's estimated an individual byelection costs about $200,000 for Elections Alberta to administer.



Anderson said that if Prentice won’t run in Calgary-Elbow, he needs to immediately identify which seat he plans to contest so other parties are not caught by surprise when the writ is dropped.

jwood@calgaryherald.com