Grant Jackson grew up in Souris and he’s the first to announce he wants to replace outgoing MLA Cliff Cullen in the Spruce Woods constituency.

Cullen announced last week he wasn’t seeking re-election opening the door to anyone looking to be his replacement.

“I’m a first-time candidate but I’ve been involved in politics for a long time. When Cliff Cullen made the decision to retire, I thought what a great opportunity. You’re seeing across the board some renewal within our party. The benefit for me is I’m young, I’ve got the energy and the passion to do this job right.”

Jackson says his experience of working both at the federal and provincial levels and if he’s elected, he knows how things work at the Manitoba Legislature and can hit the ground running to get things done.

Jackson spent a number of years working at the local level for Larry Maguire and in Ottawa in mp Maguire’s office. He transitioned to work in the Manitoba Legislature and worked in Winnipeg for the past three years.

Jackson was born and raised in Souris and says he has a good feel for what’s happening in the region. “Souris is in Spruce Woods, and it runs all the way west to Oak Lake and Sifton, Rivers and Elton over the Oakland-Wawanesa, Glenboro and Holland. Then there’s also the North Hill in Brandon. It’s a big constituency, I was born and raised in Souris, and I think it’s a great fit.”

He adds if elected health care will be on top of his priority list.

Grant Jackson says memberships can be sold until January 27th and nomination deadline is January 31st.

A nomination meeting is set for February 11th.