Zajac to run for Conservative nomination

A familiar face on the Estevan sports scene has announced his plans to seek the Conservative Party nomination for the Souris-Moose Mountain Constituency.

Phil Zajac spoke with the Mercury Monday to publicly announce his plans to succeed Ed Komarnicki, the veteran MP who announced in 2013 that he would not seek another term in office when an election is called in 2015.

Zajac said he has long held an interest in politics and feels that he's at the right time in his life to give it a try with his daughter ready to graduate high school.

"It's a good way to give back to the community," he said. "I've lived in lots of places and this has been a great community for me and my family."

Although he's new to running for office, Zajac said his educational background - he earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Beloit College in Beloit, Wis. - included classes that touched on topics such as international relations, policy development and western political thought.

Zajac added that he also has a long track record of community service. He has been heavily involved in local football and has been the head coach of the bantam Steelers program for the past two seasons. He has also coached girls' softball and recently took over as chairman of the board for the Estevan Public Library.

Zajac has also served on various volunteer committees and feels a move into politics is a natural progression for him.

"I think this is a good way for me to be an advocate for this community," he said. "I think I have a diplomatic personality, but I am also strong enough to stand some ground for what southeast Saskatchewan needs."

Among those needs that Zajac speaks of is the twinning of Highways 39 and 6 from North Portal to Regina. He feels that twinning is not just a responsibility of the province and that the federal government should also be involved, if and when twinning takes place.

"I think the trucks that are tearing up that road are international and inter-provincial. That would be one thing that would be a priority for me, advocating the federal government to provide funds to twin 39," he said.

"There is no reason for people to be dying on that road, and I think there would actually be more business coming through because the roads would be more practical to use."

Zajac said he is also keeping track of the local housing situation, noting that while Estevan is the epicentre of the issue, it is beginning to spill out into surrounding communities. He added that he is also concerned about crime and feels that a strong RCMP and Estevan Police Service is the best way to battle the issues.

Along with his volunteer work in the community in which he worked heavily with local youth, Zajac feels his business background - which exposed him to both the oilfield and agriculture sectors - will be a benefit to him moving forward.

"I think I have a good reputation with farmers and oilfield guys, and when I put my team together I will have a very broad mix of people it's not just a collection of one section of life. With everybody's perspective, when you put them in a group you can get a good picture of how things are."

Although the process to replace Komarnicki has not officially begun, Zajac has already begun building his team and making his plans to seek the nomination, which, based on the recent success of the Conservative Party in the region, will likely be a tougher task than the actual election.

"I think the whole campaign will be a learning experience because nobody is a real veteran," said Zajac who added he will soon be launching his website at the address TEAMPHIL2015.com. "There will be lots of mistakes and corrections along the way, but I think that is why picking your team is very important so that you do have a solid plan in place to touch as many people as you can."

Thus far, Estevan chiropractor Dr. Robert Kitchen is the only other candidate to announce plans to seek the nomination.