PC brass rules delegate selection was out of order
Questions continue to plague contentious Tory leadership race
None of the most recent snafus to develop in Alberta’s Progressive Conservative leadership race will result in sanctions for any candidate.
In Drumheller-Stettler, the constituency association must hold another delegate selection meeting after the results of its Sept. 11 vote were disallowed by the PC party’s chief returning officer, Rob Dunseith.
Party president Katherine O’Neill said Thursday there were two essential problems with the vote, the main one being the race hadn’t begun when the delegates were selected. There were also no scrutineers present.
In a memo sent to the Drumheller-Stettler constituency association, Dunseith said that, while he was sympathetic that early communication from the party wasn’t clear, delegate selection could only take place after the official start of the race, so the results could not be allowed to stand.
Following a complaint about Jason Kenney’s team handing out slates of candidates and flyers too close to the Spruce Grave-St. Albert delegate selection meeting, O’Neill said the party will send a clarification to all candidates about where that kind of campaigning can take place.
In the Fort Saskatchewan constituency association, another complaint was lodged against Kenney’s team by a party member who was wrongly included on Kenney’s list as a supporter.
O’Neill said Kenney could be asked to issue an apology.
The most recent complaints come after Kenney’s team was hit with a $5,000 fine over a hospitality suite at the Edmonton-Ellerslie delegate selection meeting earlier this month.
Dunseith threw out the results, ordering the constituency association to hold another vote.
O’Neill said party memberships will continue to be sold in the riding, despite concerns from Kenney’s camp that other candidates would stack the vote to avoid what the Unite Alberta team declared a resounding victory.
When asked if he thinks he’s being targeted by the party, Kenney paused before answering.
“Let me put it this way,” he said. “We have observed very clear infractions by other campaigns that we have not filed complaints about, because our focus is on moving forward and identifying supporters and electing delegates.”
His team, he said, won’t get into a tit-for-tat situation, nor will it be distracted by what he called “political argy-bargy”
“I wish the leadership committee had ... representatives from each campaign, so a lot of these very detailed, granular issues could be worked out,” Kenney said.
As for the Drumheller-Stettler meeting, Kenney said in an email he was pleased the meeting was ruled out of order so all returning and first-time members would have an opportunity to vote.
Stephen Khan, Byron Nelson and PC MLA Richard Starke are also in the battle for the leadership crown.
We have observed very clear infractions by other campaigns that we have not filed complaints about, because our focus is on moving forward …