Herb Cox is no stranger by now to voters in the Battlefords constituency.
A real estate agent in the Battlefords since 1974, Cox was a campaign manager for the Saskatchewan Party in the 2003 vote before becoming the Saskatchewan Party's candidate in the Battlefords in the 2007 provincial election.
He won the right to compete again in 2011 following a tough battle with Battleford mayor Chris Odishaw for the party's nomination in the spring of 2010. Cox ended up winning that vote by a convincing margin.
Since then he has continued to be active in spreading the Saskatchewan Party message in the community at numerous party functions and other occasions.
He also supported efforts to build a new Saskatchewan Hospital and encouraged Premier Brad Wall to tour the existing hospital this summer.
Cox says he believes the Saskatchewan Party should return to power and says a major theme of his campaign will be to "continue to keep this growth going."
"I think the most important issues are the way the province has been moving forward in the last four years and the Battlefords in particular," said Cox. "There's been lots of activity in the Battlefords as you know, with new construction being built, new homes being built, new people moving into our community.
"The main thing is it's a new Saskatchewan," said Cox. "We don't want to go back to the way things were going prior to 2007 when so many of our young people were moving to opportunities elsewhere.
"Our school enrolments were decreasing, our population was decreasing," said Cox.
"We're reducing our medical wait times, we're fixing up our schools, we're fixing up our highways. Let's keep those infrastructure projects moving forward"
He pointed to the "very positive results" from the government in the Battlefords area including money to twin Highway 4 in Battleford as well as the $8 million commitment to move forward with detailed design of Saskatchewan Hospital. But it goes further than that, he said. "There's the $1.6 million for the water treatment plant upgrade for the town of Battleford, the 40 some new affordable housing units under construction in the Battlefords right now, the new daycare spaces for the city."
He also pointed to the wait-list times for surgery being reduced in the province as significant. He wants to continue to see wait times reduced and the hiring of more doctors and more nurses.
He also believes the province has made strides in improving the highways over the past four years, but also acknowledges more needs to be done.
He believes the continued growth of the province will help in addressing the province's needs.
"We're not pursuing growth for the sake of growth," said Cox. "We're pursuing growth so we can provide for all the citizens of the Battlefords and the province."
Cox says he believe there is a difference in this campaign compared to four years ago, in that "the whole atmosphere and the whole philosophy of people seems to be a lot more positive now, in a can-do type of atmosphere."
People he has talked to at the doors seem to be approving of the changes that have been happening in the province, he said, with the highways being fixed and schools being repaired.
"All of these things seem to have people in a great frame of mind,"' said Cox.
The Saskatchewan Party plans to campaign hard in the riding and Cox is hopeful Premier Brad Wall will make an appearance here during the campaign. The Cox campaign office is now up and running at 1682 - 100th St. in North Battleford, and can be easily spotted from the street with two large green Herb Cox signs right in front of it.
While recent poll numbers have shown the Saskatchewan Party with a large lead across the province, Cox sayss that does not reflect the situation in the Battlefords. He anticipates a close race and a close result in the end, and intends to work hard to win the seat.
"We have to get out and meet as many people as we can," said Cox.
