Calgarians weigh in on Drever’s expulsion

Some see it as a youthful mistake. Others say it’s evidence of unprofessional behaviour unbecoming of public office.

Either way, Deborah Drever’s social media activity is raising eyebrows in her own west-end riding.

The 26-year-old MLA for Calgary-Bow made headlines again this week for photos posted on her Facebook and Instagram pages that some say show poor judgment, or even disrespect.

Drever was expelled from the NDP caucus Friday after a photo from her Instagram surfaced that premier-designate Rachel Notley said had “homophobic statements.” The photo is of a newspaper page with Tory politicians Jim Prentice and Rick McIver, which Drever appears to have captioned “Gay Boyz.”

Drever didn’t respond to a phone message requesting a comment.

The Instagram photo came to light on Friday, so some people in the neighbourhood riding of Bowness weren’t familiar with it — but many had heard of previous controversies involving Drever’s social media activity since her surprising election victory on May 5.

“I think if you’re applying for a job, you should go through an interview process,” said Jacqui Elser, who owns a ceramic painting store next to former MLA Alana DeLong’s constituency office, which Drever should move into soon.

“They should move on and find someone else for the job. I think it’s a bad start for (the NDP), for this riding.”

But Nelson Fee, who was picking up his bike in Bowness on Friday and voted for the NDP, noted “there’s a difference between criminal activity and poor judgment.”

“I don’t think having a government of monks would be any better,” Fee said.

“I think they got a lot of senators in the federal government to get rid of before they start getting rid of her.”