Kent Hehr
Encyclopedia
Kent Hehr is the Liberal
Alberta Liberal Party
The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...

 Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...

 for the riding of Calgary-Buffalo.

Personal life

As a teenager, Hehr was extremely active in sports including both baseball and hockey. These are interests which Hehr is still passionate about to this day. He played for the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion Calgary Canucks in 1989-90 and for the Mount Royal College
Mount Royal College
Mount Royal University is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1910 as a primary and secondary school, Mount Royal became a post-secondary institution in 1931 as Mount Royal College offering transfer courses to the University of Alberta and later to the University of Calgary...

 Cougars the following year.

He had a goal of becoming a physical education teacher. However, in October 1991, Hehr was shot as a bystander in a drive-by shooting and became a quadriplegic. His injuries ended his plans, and instead Hehr pursued post-secondary studies at Mount Royal College and then at the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...

, from which he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Canadian Studies and a Bachelor of Laws. Upon graduation he was named graduate of the decade and ranked among the top 40 graduates in 40 years. Prior to being elected Member of the Legislative Assembly, Hehr practiced law at Fraser Milner Casgrain.

Hehr also became active in the community, leading various groups, such as the Alberta branch of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. In 2008, he was listed as one of "20 Compelling Calgarians" by the Calgary Herald
Calgary Herald
The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta.- History :The paper was first published on August 31, 1883 by Andrew Armour and Thomas Braden as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate and General Advertiser. It started as a weekly paper with only...

.

Hehr has also been active in numerous community groups within Calgary. He has served on the following boards in the past few years:
  • National Education Association of Disabled Students, president
  • Calgary Advisory Committee on Accessibility, chair
  • Canadian Paraplegic Association (Alberta), chair
  • Calgary Downtown West Community Association
  • United Way of Calgary Leaders Committee
  • Calgary Canuck Alumni Association

Political career

In June 2006, Hehr won the Calgary-Buffalo Liberal nomination in a contest with Keith Purdy, a gay rights activist.
It was the first time the Alberta Liberals had had a contested nomination in Calgary since 1998. He was subsequently elected to the legislature in the March 3, 2008 general election.

After the election, Hehr was chosen to be the Shadow Minister for Justice and Solicitor General for the Alberta Liberal Caucus.
As the Shadow Minister, Hehr has been working to tackle crime in the province while focusing on other justice issues.

In the legislature, Hehr serves on the following committees:
  • Special Standing Committee on Member Services
  • Standing Committee on Community Services (deputy chair)
  • Standing Committee on Resource and Environment


Hehr was campaigning for mayor in the 2010 Calgary municipal election
Calgary municipal election, 2010
The 2010 Calgary municipal election was held Monday, October 18, 2010 to elect a mayor and 14 aldermen to the city council, the seven trustees to the Calgary School District , and four of the seven trustees to the Calgary Catholic School District . Three incumbent separate school trustees had no...

 but withdrew prior to the vote.

Gun violence

Hehr’s major focus has been on gun violence in the province. Soon after he was elected, the City of Calgary became trapped in a gang war, which has claimed the lives of many young individuals.

Hehr has been putting pressure on the government to help reduce these numbers. He started by calling on the province to increase the number of police officers on the beat in downtown Calgary. The Mayor and the Police Chief have also joined in his call to increase the number of police officers.

Hehr’s most recent call has been to give police the power to seize vehicles that contain unregistered firearms, along with the gun. Bill 201 was defeated in second reading March 9, 2009 with no Conservative MLA support.

Electoral record

|-

|Liberal
|Kent Hehr
|align="right"|4,583
|align="right"|48.92
|align="right"|
|-

|Progressive Conservative
|Sean Chu
|align="right"|3,646
|align="right"|38.72
|align="right"|
|-

|Green
|Stephen Ricketts
|align="right"|611
|align="right"|6.52
|align="right"|
|-

|New Democrat
|Robert Lawrence
|align="right"|387
|align="right"|4.13
|align="right"|
|-

|Social Credit
Social Credit Party of Alberta
The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values....


|Antoni Grochowski
|align="right"|158
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|}

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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