Kathy Macdonald chosen by Wildrose Party to take on Jim Prentice

The Wildrose Party is running a former police officer against Alberta's premier in the upcoming byelection in Calgary-Foothills.

• Jim Prentice to run for Calgary-Foothills seat
• Calgary-Elbow byelection expected to be hotly contested race

Kathy Macdonaldhas never before run for public office, andsays the taskwill be challenging.

"I play some sports, and I follow some competitive sports as well, and high level competitors always say, you know,the tougher the competitorthe better you get," she said.

Wildroseleader Danielle Smith saysPrentice has put off calling the byelections until now because he is not looking forward to facing Alberta voters.

"This isn't a leader who is confident [in] the government that he leads," she said. "And he is also a leader that doesn't want to run on his record, and for good reason."

Voters will go to the polls in four byelections Calgary-Foothills, Calgary-West, Calgary-Elbow and Edmonton-Whitemud on Oct.27.

Smith says theWildrose would be pleased to win one of those seats.