Battle back on to turf Jason Kenney from Alberta PC leadership race
The battle is back on to turf former Conservative MP Jason Kenney from the Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership race.
Darcy Schumann, a member of the party’s board of directors, exercised his right Wednesday to revisit a complaint filed by party member Jeffrey Rath against Kenney.
Rath has argued that Kenney’s promise to dissolve the PCs to join forces with the rival Wildrose party violates party rules not to harm the PCs or their brand.
He also said that Kenney has denigrated the party in public comments and that those actions, along with his promise to dissolve the party if he wins, should prompt his expulsion from the race.
The party’s leadership election committee unanimously dismissed Rath’s complaint last weekend.
Schumann said in an email Wednesday that the committee could only rule on half the complaint relating to a breach of leadership race rules. The committee couldn’t rule on allegations relating to the party’s constitution and damage to the PC brand, he wrote.
“That is the sole responsibility of our board and, as such, we should, as a board, give it proper consideration.”
Schumann, the party’s Calgary vice-president, has called the emergency meeting for Feb. 24.
He could not be reached immediately for comment Wednesday.
Rath said he was pleased.
“I think it underlines how we viewed this all along — that it’s a very serious complaint and is certainly not frivolous,” he said in an interview.
Schumann’s email said he will ask Rath to make his arguments in person on Feb. 24. Rath said he will attend.
Kenney called Rath’s complaint and Schumann’s review an undemocratic attempt to silence the thousands of party members he says have already voted to support pro-Kenney delegates at the leadership convention in Calgary on March 18.
“This is going from the sublime to the ridiculous,” said Kenney in an interview. “The members should decide who the leader is and not a group of insiders based on legal manoeuvres.”