The last time Ryan Bater ran under the Liberal party banner in the Battlefords in 2007, he was working in the economic development field as general manager of the Battlefords Regional Economic Development Authority.
He has since traded in that job and job title for another one - that of leader of the provincial Liberal party.
Bater was elected provincial leader by acclamation in the summer of 2008. He replaced former leader David Karwacki, who resigned after the party was wiped off the map in both the 2003 and 2007 provincial elections. Bater has been hard at work since then trying to rebuild the Liberal brand in the province.
Bater calls the 2011 election important because of the need to have a third party as part of the debate in the legislature.
"We cannot go forward as a province as a one-party state or even a two-party state," said Bater,
"Saskatchewan is stronger with a third party. The province needs somebody with the strength to stand up to Brad Wall. And that holds true whether you like Brad Wall or don't like him. Government is stronger with a strong opposition. And the reality is the NDP for the last several years has not been providing a strong opposition - which is the reason, truth be told, why the Saskatchewan Party is so popular."
The Liberal party is targeting the Battlefords in this coming election, Bater said. He says he offers Battlefords voters something they have never had before - representation in the legislature by a party leader.
"We have an opportunity to provide that voice," said Bater of the Battlefords. "For the first time in our history, the leader of the third party is running here."
"It's a chance to assert ourselves as a community, it's a chance to show leadership in the Battlefords. It's a chance to make a dramatic change on the political scene in the province."
There are a few policies Bater has put out in the run up to the 2011 vote. In the past he has been critical of the two main parties for blocking the PotashCorp takeover attempt by BHP Billiton, saying he would have stayed out of the way. He was also critical of plans for a new domed stadium in Regina and suggested the funds should go to build a new Saskatchewan Hospital instead.
Bater said mental health will be a focus of his platform in the Battlefords, because of the importance of mental health to the community.
"What gets missed in health care is mental health care, and that's an issue I'll be focussing on," said Bater.
Resource sector revenues will be another area of interest.
"The first speech I ever gave as leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party was in 2008, and I talked about the need for sovereign wealth fund," said Bater.
The Liberals called the idea the Saskatchewan Futures Fund.
That idea has now been grabbed by the NDP, said Bater, who accuses NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter for swiping the ideas from his speech.
"He uses my language specifically. The exact words have been taken from my mouth three years later," said Bater, who adds the NDP is "obviously out of ideas because they're taking them from us."
Still, if the NDP does introduce the fund Bater would support it, he said. He adds there is an "addiction to spending one-time resources year to year on regular programs" by the current government.
His plan would call for the elimination of debt, implementation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund and a reduction of the provincial sales tax as well, he said.
Bater's campaign is already under way, with his election signs up in several neighbourhoods in the Battlefords.
He was scheduled to speak Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the leader's dinner in Saskatoon, the first official event of the Liberal campaign following the election call, with his Saskatoon slate of candidates introduced at that time.
His local campaign office is now up and running in downtown North Battleford on 101st Street, in the old Craig's building.
