Ken Kowalski
| Ken Kowalski | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 11th Speaker of the Alberta Legislative Assembly | |
|
In office April 14, 1997 – May 23, 2012 |
|
| Preceded by | Stanley Schumacher |
| Succeeded by | Gene Zwozdesky |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta | |
|
In office November 21, 1979 – 1993 |
|
| Preceded by | Hugh Horner |
| Constituency | Barrhead |
|
In office 1993–2004 |
|
| Constituency | Barrhead-Westlock |
|
In office 2004–2012 |
|
| Succeeded by | Maureen Kubinec |
| Constituency | Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kenneth Reginald Kowalski September 27, 1945 Bonnyville, Alberta |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
Kenneth "Ken" Reginald Kowalski, MLA (born September 27, 1945) is a provincial level politician and former teacher from Alberta, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, where he served continuously from November 1979 to March 2012, sitting with the governing Progressive Conservative caucus under five different Premiers.
Kowalski was the Speaker of the Assembly, and was first appointed to the Executive Council of Alberta by Premier Don Getty in 1986. Since his appointment he held five different cabinet portfolios including that of Deputy Premier from 1992 to 1994.
Kenneth Reginald Kowalski was born in Bonnyville, Alberta on September 27, 1945. He worked as a teacher at Barrhead Composite High School, and was a civil servant working for the Alberta government in the 1970s.
Kowalski ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature for the first time a by-election held in November 1979 in the electoral district of Barrhead to replace Hugh Horner. He ran against three other candidates including Alberta Liberal leader Nicholas Taylor. Kowalski just barely won the election with Taylor finishing a strong second. He took 38% of the popular vote in the hotly contested race to hold the seat for the Progressive Conservatives. The other two candidates from Social Credit and the NDP also had respectable showings.
Kowalski would face off against Taylor in the 1982 Alberta general election. The field in the race was crowded with a total of six different candidates contesting the race. Both Kowalski and Taylor would make gains while the other four opposition candidates didn't have much of an impact in the race. Kowalski held his seat by doubling his popular vote, while Taylor only saw a marginal increase.
The 1986 general election would see Kowalski win re-election to his third term in office. He would win by a wider margin then 1982, with the collapse of the opposition vote. His popular vote would go up by an insignificant amount. New Democrat candidate Larry McConnell would finish a distant second, and the other three candidates in the race would poll an insignificant amount of votes.
...
Wikipedia