Calgary-Foothills byelection forum: Part 2 on the Calgary Eyeopener

Advance polls are now open for the Calgary-Foothills Sept. 3byelection.

The seatbelonged to former premier Jim Prentice before he resigned in May right after the NDP won the Alberta election. Now there are six candidates vying for the seat in the Alberta Legislature.

On Wednesday, the CalgaryEyeopenertalked to theLiberal, Progressive Conservative and Alberta Party candidates.

• Calgary-Foothills byelection forum: Part 1 on the Calgary Eyeopener
• Calgary-Foothillsbyelectiona close race, suggestsMainstreetpoll

The NDP, Green Party and Wildrose candidates were heard on Thursday.Here are some of the most memorable quotes from the forum.

NDP Bob Hawkesworth

• "Calgary voters have selected me 10times to represent them at city councilor in the provincial legislature.I'm theonly candidate that's hadexperience in government."
• "I have to say, Mr. Panda, your own literature calls for no debt and no tax increases,you're going on about a $6-billion dollar deficit in the budget. If you're not going to balance the budget with borrowing, you're going to have to find $6-billion dollars in cuts."

Wildrose Prasad Panda

It's tiresome. Votersdon't want bickering. What they want is a vision, something to be hopeful about.- Janet Keeping, Green Party

• "AllWildrose is askingis for you [NDP] tobring yourplan you're the government, you have to tell the people what's yourplan.You haven't presented the budget yet and you haveapproved $6-billion more debt without telling people how you'll pay it back. People are concerned."
• "VotingWildroseis the only way to tell [the] NDP that you want to keep your job and that the energy sector is important and that the anti-oil and anti-pipeline agenda doesn't work."

Green Party Janet Keeping

• "We need to diversify the economy so that we are not subject to these brutal swings booms and busts."

• "North of Stoney Trail we've got the newer communities with a terrible lack of services and amenities. Tons of school children, no schools," said Keeping. "These are not sustainable living conditions."