Rogue CBE trustee sites surface anew
A set of rogue websites that used the identities of two Calgary Board of Education trustees as domain names have returned to the Internet after they were taken down last year.
The two sites are anonymous and not authorized by the trustees. Their reappearance is an unwelcome surprise to CBE board chairwoman Pat Cochrane and Wards 1 and 2 trustee Joy Bowen-Eyre, the two elected officials who are targeted.
They hired a lawyer last year to look into the problem. Cochrane said she ultimately wants to be able to purchase the domain names and take them out of the hands of whoever is behind the website.
“To me, it’s bizarre, immature, weird and outrageous that somebody else can be using my name and putting whatever they want up for it,” Cochrane said in an interview.
Patcochrane.ca, patcochrane.com, joyboweneyre. ca and joyboweneyre.com first emerged about a year ago. They featured select quotes made by the trustees, and in one case an unflattering photo of Cochrane.
The websites were taken offline after a story last June by the Herald. They have since re-emerged, although it is not clear exactly when they came back online.
In the case of the current patcochrane.ca (and .com), the current site simply links to a YouTube clip of a board meeting. It is called “Pat Cochrane has been here too long.”
In the video, Cochrane is speaking about the CBE’s capital plan and a lack of provincial funding. The video is cut to emphasize and repeat Cochrane saying: “It’s moments like this that I think I actually have been here too long.”
In Bowen-Eyre’s case, the site links to a Public Interest Alberta survey she filled out prior to the 2010 election. Bowen-Eyre has her own website, which is joybowen-eyre. ca (with the hyphen).
“Clearly, whoever’s doing it has a little extra time on their hands,” Bowen-Eyre said.
There had also been a website with the name of trustee Pam King, but that one has not been reactivated.
Last year, the websites caused quite a stir. In late June, Robert Hurdman stepped down as president of the Calgary Association of School and Parent Councils, a group funded by the CBE.
Hurdman had said he knew who was behind the websites, but refused to identify the person. He called them “fan sites.”
His personal website was registered the same day, using the same domain name registration company as the two anonymous trustee sites.
Contacted last week, Hurdman declined to comment on whether he was behind the latest iterations, or knows who is.
“I’m sorry I can’t help you. I can’t say anything more on this than I said last time we spoke,” he wrote in an email.