With great sadness, I repost this from the Calgary Herald. Pam will be missed by us all.
Pam Barrett in 2000, after she had decided to leave politics.
Ian Scott/Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - Pam Barrett, a three-term New Democrat member of the Alberta legislature who also served as party leader, died late Monday at age 54, at the Cross Cancer Institute.
Well-known for her left-wing views and the ferocity with which she pursued them, she earned the respect and affection of even her staunchest opponents.
"We didn't have the same political philosophy, but she was firm in her beliefs," said former premier Ralph Klein.
I always had a lot of time for her."
When Klein was headed into the legislature for his farewell tribute in 2006, he sent a car for Ms. Barrett.
"I wanted her there," said Klein.
Ms. Barrett won her first seat in the Alberta legislature in 1986, defeating longtime MLA and powerful cabinet minister Dave King in the riding of Edmonton-Highlands.
She took a hiatus from politics in 1993 after a spider bite caused her hand to swell, which led to the news that her immune system had been weakened by an earlier bout with cancer in 1974, when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
From 1993 to 1996, she worked as a radio host and television columnist.
Ms. Barrett became New Democrat leader in 1996 and was elected again in Highlands in 1997 to head a two-member caucus.
She made a quick decision to resign in 2000 following an "out-of-body experience" after a reaction to a dentist's anesthetic.
No comments:
Post a Comment