Arm River-Watrous MLA Greg Brkich has won the nomination to become the Saskatchewan Party candidate for the Arm River constituency in the next provincial election.

Brkich defeated contestant Clark Puckett in a vote held among party members at a nomination meeting last Tuesday at Davidson Town Hall. He will be seeking his fifth term in office as a Saskatchewan Party MLA when the next provincial election is held likely sometime in spring 2016.

“The support was overwhelming,” said Brkich after the vote. “I was really impressed with the support I got from the people in the room.”

Around 300 people filed into the Hall to cast their ballot after hearing both men speak about their previous experiences and qualifications to be the next Party candidate and what issues they would advocate for if elected.

“That humbled me,” said Brkich. “I was very impressed because there was people from all over the constituency. Some had to drive as much as an hour-and-a-half to two hours to come here to take part in this nomination.”

The new Arm River constituency encompasses much of the same territory as Brkich’s current riding except Watrous will no longer be included and Craik would.

The new riding would stretch down to past Central Butte in the southwest and run north along Lake Diefenbaker. It will then go above Hanley and move east under Watrous before hitting Big Quill Lake and then move down and west towards Last Mountain Lake. Using the lake as a natural boundary, it will head south passing just above Strasbourg on its way to Regina Beach before cutting straight across above Moose Jaw on its way back to near Central Butte.

Brkich said the support he received in the campaign for the nomination was strong from the outset, but as in every election he ran as if he was one vote behind. He said the campaign team worked hard throughout the six-week race and were able to increase their membership in the party to over 500 members, which also bodes well for the next election.

“It increases the awareness,” he said. “Also, because this constituency does change quite a bit (with) the new one, I got to make a lot of new contacts that I wouldn’t have made till close to the election. In the long run it’s going to be a very good benefit for us for the next election with the contacts I’ve made in each and every town throughout the constituency in the new part (of the riding).”