NDP bars candidate from seeking nomination

A former civic candidate is questioning why he was barred by the NDP from seeking the party’s nomination for the upcoming byelection in Calgary- Foothills.

Sandy Jenkins, who received eight per cent of the vote when he ran for Calgary mayor in 2007, said the NDP rejected his application to become a nomination candidate in the riding and won’t give him an explanation.

“I’m a little bit baffled, honestly and disappointed,” said Jenkins, who has been the spokesman for the advocacy group Voters for Taxis and also ran for city council in 2010.

“If I’m not a good candidate, why not let the people decide who is a good candidate. What does the D in NDP stand for?”

On Monday, New Democrats in Calgary- Foothills will choose a nominee from between former NDP MLA and city councillor Bob Hawkesworth and lawyer Anne Wilson, who finished second in the riding as the party’s candidate in the May 5 provincial election.

A byelection must be called by Nov. 5 because the seat was vacated on election night when then-Premier Jim Prentice resigned it as his Progressive Conservatives went down to defeat at the hands of the NDP.

Scott Payne, the NDP’s interim director of organization, confirmed that Jenkins’ application was reviewed by the party’s elected executive leadership and not approved.

“The contents of that review process and vetting that we go through with prospective candidates is confidential,” he said Thursday. “I can’t comment on it.” The barring of prospective candidates by parties became a significant Alberta political issue in the run- up to the provincial election as the PCs disallowed a number of contenders for undisclosed reasons.

It blew up particularly in the last part of the spring campaign as one jilted Tory candidate, Jamie Lall, revealed private messages that appeared to show the PC party pressuring him to get out of the Chestermere-Rocky View race before he was disqualified.