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R.F. principal has political aspirations

R.F. Staples School principal Wayne Rufiange has thrown his hat into the political ring and is hoping to become a candidate for the Alberta Party in the newly formed Morinville-St.Albert riding. Rufiange, a St.
wayne rufiange
R.F. Staples principal Wayne Rufiange is seeking the Alberta Party nomination in the Morinville-St. Albert riding.

R.F. Staples School principal Wayne Rufiange has thrown his hat into the political ring and is hoping to become a candidate for the Alberta Party in the newly formed Morinville-St.Albert riding.

Rufiange, a St. Albert resident and 20-year education veteran will face off against teacher and former St. Albert city councillor Neil Korotash in the Jan. 20 nomination contest to decide who will represent the Alberta Party in the riding in the 2019 provincial election.

Entering politics has been in the back of his mind for a while, but he never seriously considered it until late last year.

“I’ve thought about it for many years, but it was never high on my priority list. In the last year or so, with my work in education, we were looking at supporting kids and the tipping point for me was when we were trying to get some supports for kids for mental health.

“Some of the services can be a little disjointed and they’re not really working together as well as they could.”

As a former Progressive Conservative voter, Rufiange said he just couldn’t see himself joining with the New Democrats or the United Conservative Party.

“I looked at the United Conservative Party and I don’t think their values represent Alberta’s future. I think some of their views on the LGBTQ community, for instance, will set us back many years. It’s not the progress that we want, so those values didn’t align with me anymore and the PCs had a history of making cuts to education and health care and that’s just not good for our families,” he said.

The NDP, he said, is too far to the other side.

“I understand some of what they are doing, but I don’t think that they’re doing it meaningfully or purposefully and I think it’s going to hurt us more than benefit us,” he said, citing the carbon tax and minimum wage hike as examples.

“Their projected deficit is just unrealistic and unacceptable.”

Rufiange is hopeful his experience as a principal will translate well into politics.

“As a principal, sometimes I am a politician. At the same time I’m trying to manage a lot of stakeholders and get their needs out. I have people I’m accountable to, the board of trustees, our superintendent, and I have to make sure that I’m aligned with them, but I have my own values. Then I have to consider the values and the expectations of the parents and my staff,” he said.

He’s ready for the challenge though and is prepared to set his education career aside for a few years to serve in the Legislature, if elected, though he acknowledges that’s still a long ways off.

“I think in many ways, I’m there, I just haven’t been given the title. I’ve worked one-on-one with many families. I know their achievements, I know their challenges and I think that over my career I’ve looked at how we can solve things. Let’s not look at why we can’t do something, let’s try and find ways to make it happen, let’s be solution focussed.”

The Alberta Party, led by former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel, currently has four MLAs in the Legislature.

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