Premier Jason Kenny’s constituency office gaining access to all membership lists appears to violate the United Conservative Party privacy bylaw..But rules and procedures written for the UCP’s April 9 special general meeting (SGM) that kicked off voting in his leadership review circumvent the bylaw..“Informally, the leader’s always been able to see the list whenever he wants to see the list. But for the purpose of the SGM and leadership vote, they specifically went out of their way to put it in writing that it was OK for him to have the list,” said political strategist Vitor Marciano..“When they changed the rules to go to the SGM mail-in ballot, they also changed that section to essentially say the leader can get the list whenever he wants it, and he can give it to people.”.“This is an example of the party putting their thumb on the scale for Jason Kenney.”.Concerns about the UCP violating its privacy bylaw by sharing lists with people who shouldn’t be privy to them were raised Monday by Cathy Smith, a former party Southern Alberta director and former secretary..Smith, a longtime conservative, took issue with an email sent to the membership by an unidentified staffer from Kenney’s Calgary-Lougheed constituency office. .Smith who lives in Calgary-Elbow MLA Doug Schweitzer’s constituency, received the April 29 email with an appeal from Camrose MLA, Jackie Lovely to vote for Kenney..Citing Section 4.11 of the bylaw that mandates strict rules around membership lists, Smith said “government-paid employees in MLAs offices” shouldn’t have access to them. .UCP spokesman Dave Prisco pointed to Article 3.5 of the SGM Rules and Procedures..“The party board passed rules for the Special General Meeting that allow for membership information to be shared with constituency association presidents in a way that protects the confidentiality of this information while ensuring transparency and integrity in the leadership review process,” Prisco told the Western Standard Monday..“The leader’s constituency association in Calgary-Lougheed has undertaken to support his efforts to win the leadership review vote, which they are entitled to do. The leader is entitled to share the membership information with his constituency association to communicate with members in respect of the leadership review so long as the information is not retained, copied, or distributed after the SGM has concluded.”.The April 29 emails with a message from an MLA in another riding caused a stir among UCP members concerned about privacy..“I’ve heard this complaint all week,” said Al Browne, a longtime conservative and Kenney family friend..Browne resigned as Calgary-Hays constituency association (CA) president in April and blasted Kenney’s poor leadership style and prevalent bullying tactics by his staff..Discretion is the key, said Browne, referring to the membership lists..“The premier can have lists of every member in Alberta. And they can use that information to help his campaign for the leadership review. But they have to use that list with discretion. They can’t be giving it out to anybody.”.“I don’t see anything wrong with that as long as the staffer isn’t sharing it with telemarketing companies, or other CAs and other MLAs. As long as the list stays confidential. You’ve got to give them the benefit of the doubt.”.However, Browne said there’s good reason for the suspicion..“In fairness, I understand the confusion because on numerous occasions they have mislead the membership. So now you’ve got a membership that looks at everything and wonders what's true and what isn’t. I don’t want to be hard on the membership because the party has given them reasons to ask those questions.”.“The premier is entitled to the membership lists. The premier can use it for his own purposes and that all.”.Cathy Smith.Not so fast, said Smith, who oversaw bylaws when she served as party secretary..Rules for an SGM never overrule bylaws passed by the membership, she insisted..“He (Prisco) said there’s rules for the SGM, but he was trying to cover it off. No, no. The board can never override the bylaws. Never.” .“Unless there are signed non-disclosure agreements in the possession of each president of each CA, only the president has access to that membership list for the constituency. The president of Calgary-Lougheed cannot, according to the Bylaws Article 11, have a complete membership list of the whole province.”.“And obviously the leader asked for the full list and gave it to his office staff to email all eligible members which is a violation of the bylaw.”.Also, it's imperative that distance be maintained between MLA and CA offices, said Smith..“They’re trying to confuse everyone and pretend that it’s the CA, when it’s not. It’s the office of the MLA. It isn’t OK. The office of the MLA is to do government work. It’s not to do party work. Party work is done by the constituency association volunteers, not by paid government employees.”.The voting deadline is May 11. Results will be announced May 18..Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
