Tim Hoven has vowed to fight “drive-by attempts at character assassination” that disqualified him from a challenge to replace House Leader Jason Nixon in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre..The United Conservative Party resorted to “insinuations, allegations, and petty attempts” to oust him from a “competitive” campaign against Nixon, said Hoven in a statement issued Thursday..“I will be appealing this to the Party Board and will be asking to be reinstated as an approved nomination candidate,” said the Eckville cattle rancher..Nixon is the constituency’s MLA and a member of Premier Jason Kenney’s inner circle..Hoven’s disqualification comes on the heels of that of another candidate building a strong campaign to challenge another Kenney insider..Hoven was notified that the Provincial Candidate Selection Committee rejected his application to challenge Nixon, following a local Constituency Nomination Committee recommendation..An inactive social media account on Gab, that the party alleges is used by white supremacist groups, was cited as the reason for his disqualification in an email sent from Dustin van Vugt, executive director of the United Conservative Party..Hoven claimed he’s been disqualified for another reason..“Let’s be clear and talk about what is really going on. My nomination campaign against Jason Nixon is very competitive, and we have strong momentum,” wrote Hoven..“People are standing up. That’s what spooked the status quo. That’s what this is about. That’s why I’m going to fight this. Albertans have had enough of these drive-by attempts at character assassination.”.The UCP’s case against him “reveals nothing and proves nothing,” he said..“These are all insinuations, allegations, and petty attempts to associate me and my supporters with anyone or anything, just to stop us.”.This “creeping cancel culture” is what deters people from getting involved in politics, he said..“One of the issues listed was, in 2015 I was on a social platform I had since forgotten about, and only had 4 posts on it. You imply that because this platform can be used by racists and haters, and because I had an inactive account on it, therefore, I must be one of those is ridiculous to even say out loud..“The disqualification email goes on further to state “… your seemingly sympathetic assessment” of people like that who spew hate on others is an attack on my character and on my family’s well-earned good standing in the community.”.This follows weeks of widespread speculation that the UCP would find a way to disqualify Hoven who poses a serious challenge to Nixon..“Our team has reached out to thousands of Albertans through our events, phone calls, and social media. The overwhelming response was the people of Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre want change,” wrote Hoven..Kenney faces a hotly-contested leadership review at an April 9 special general meeting in Red Deer..“First, as you disclosed on your Nomination Contestant Application, you have an account on the website “Gab.com.” Research has indicated “Gab.com” has been referred to as “an Online Haven for White Supremacists,” and has previously sponsored a conference led by a well-known white nationalist and Holocaust denier,” wrote Van Vugt..He cited “follows and interacts” with four people, whom he alleged are white nationalists and promoters of hate speech. .They include VoxDay, Stefan Molyneux, RedPillBabe, and Milo Yiannopoulos..“While “following” individuals does not necessarily equal an endorsement, you have tacitly endorsed some of the content produced by these individuals, such as commenting ‘Great show’ in response to a discussion video that ‘VoxDay’ hosted with Stefan Molyneux, and sharing a video produced by Mr. Molyneux in 2015 that was subsequently taken down by YouTube because of its white nationalist content,” wrote Van Vugt..Van Vugt said the party’s “stringent vetting standards” to avoid bringing “disrepute” to the party prompted “serious questions” about Hoven’s candidacy..“Second, you shared a tweet in early February that implied that the RCMP engaged in a conspiracy and was ‘caught in a lie’ regarding violence at the Coutts Border Crossing,” wrote Van Vugt, who noted that the UCP supports the work of law enforcement..“It is highly inappropriate to claim the RCMP engaged in a conspiracy to lie about violence at the Coutts border crossing and sharing such information is not consistent with the values of the UCP.”.Hoven flatly dismissed this allegation..“To refer to a shared tweet as proof I was somehow lying about or degrading the RCMP is equally ridiculous.”.Last week, the UCP disqualified Jodie Gateman, who was challenging Deputy House Leader Joseph Schow for the party’s nomination in Cardston-Siksika..She was accused of reposting hateful messages on Facebook..Like Nixon, the constituency’s MLA Schow is part of Kenney’s inner circle..Gateman said Hoven’s disqualification is another attempt to remove strong opposition to the current regime..“If it was not apparent that the UCP party is interfering in nominations, it should be now,” said Gateman, a Vulcan County Councillor..“We have two strong candidates disqualified on relatively weak reasons or purposefully misconstrued information within days of each other..“The party appears to be searching for anything to disqualify hard-working Albertans who have just put their name forth to run against a sitting MLA favoured by party leadership. Yet the same ‘vetting’ does not seem to be applied to the sitting MLAs that are being challenged..“This type of top-down decision-making does not go over well with the people of Alberta. Those members want to have their say on these matters. The real question is, why doesn’t the party want them to have that say?”.Gateman has appealed the decision. .Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
Tim Hoven has vowed to fight “drive-by attempts at character assassination” that disqualified him from a challenge to replace House Leader Jason Nixon in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre..The United Conservative Party resorted to “insinuations, allegations, and petty attempts” to oust him from a “competitive” campaign against Nixon, said Hoven in a statement issued Thursday..“I will be appealing this to the Party Board and will be asking to be reinstated as an approved nomination candidate,” said the Eckville cattle rancher..Nixon is the constituency’s MLA and a member of Premier Jason Kenney’s inner circle..Hoven’s disqualification comes on the heels of that of another candidate building a strong campaign to challenge another Kenney insider..Hoven was notified that the Provincial Candidate Selection Committee rejected his application to challenge Nixon, following a local Constituency Nomination Committee recommendation..An inactive social media account on Gab, that the party alleges is used by white supremacist groups, was cited as the reason for his disqualification in an email sent from Dustin van Vugt, executive director of the United Conservative Party..Hoven claimed he’s been disqualified for another reason..“Let’s be clear and talk about what is really going on. My nomination campaign against Jason Nixon is very competitive, and we have strong momentum,” wrote Hoven..“People are standing up. That’s what spooked the status quo. That’s what this is about. That’s why I’m going to fight this. Albertans have had enough of these drive-by attempts at character assassination.”.The UCP’s case against him “reveals nothing and proves nothing,” he said..“These are all insinuations, allegations, and petty attempts to associate me and my supporters with anyone or anything, just to stop us.”.This “creeping cancel culture” is what deters people from getting involved in politics, he said..“One of the issues listed was, in 2015 I was on a social platform I had since forgotten about, and only had 4 posts on it. You imply that because this platform can be used by racists and haters, and because I had an inactive account on it, therefore, I must be one of those is ridiculous to even say out loud..“The disqualification email goes on further to state “… your seemingly sympathetic assessment” of people like that who spew hate on others is an attack on my character and on my family’s well-earned good standing in the community.”.This follows weeks of widespread speculation that the UCP would find a way to disqualify Hoven who poses a serious challenge to Nixon..“Our team has reached out to thousands of Albertans through our events, phone calls, and social media. The overwhelming response was the people of Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre want change,” wrote Hoven..Kenney faces a hotly-contested leadership review at an April 9 special general meeting in Red Deer..“First, as you disclosed on your Nomination Contestant Application, you have an account on the website “Gab.com.” Research has indicated “Gab.com” has been referred to as “an Online Haven for White Supremacists,” and has previously sponsored a conference led by a well-known white nationalist and Holocaust denier,” wrote Van Vugt..He cited “follows and interacts” with four people, whom he alleged are white nationalists and promoters of hate speech. .They include VoxDay, Stefan Molyneux, RedPillBabe, and Milo Yiannopoulos..“While “following” individuals does not necessarily equal an endorsement, you have tacitly endorsed some of the content produced by these individuals, such as commenting ‘Great show’ in response to a discussion video that ‘VoxDay’ hosted with Stefan Molyneux, and sharing a video produced by Mr. Molyneux in 2015 that was subsequently taken down by YouTube because of its white nationalist content,” wrote Van Vugt..Van Vugt said the party’s “stringent vetting standards” to avoid bringing “disrepute” to the party prompted “serious questions” about Hoven’s candidacy..“Second, you shared a tweet in early February that implied that the RCMP engaged in a conspiracy and was ‘caught in a lie’ regarding violence at the Coutts Border Crossing,” wrote Van Vugt, who noted that the UCP supports the work of law enforcement..“It is highly inappropriate to claim the RCMP engaged in a conspiracy to lie about violence at the Coutts border crossing and sharing such information is not consistent with the values of the UCP.”.Hoven flatly dismissed this allegation..“To refer to a shared tweet as proof I was somehow lying about or degrading the RCMP is equally ridiculous.”.Last week, the UCP disqualified Jodie Gateman, who was challenging Deputy House Leader Joseph Schow for the party’s nomination in Cardston-Siksika..She was accused of reposting hateful messages on Facebook..Like Nixon, the constituency’s MLA Schow is part of Kenney’s inner circle..Gateman said Hoven’s disqualification is another attempt to remove strong opposition to the current regime..“If it was not apparent that the UCP party is interfering in nominations, it should be now,” said Gateman, a Vulcan County Councillor..“We have two strong candidates disqualified on relatively weak reasons or purposefully misconstrued information within days of each other..“The party appears to be searching for anything to disqualify hard-working Albertans who have just put their name forth to run against a sitting MLA favoured by party leadership. Yet the same ‘vetting’ does not seem to be applied to the sitting MLAs that are being challenged..“This type of top-down decision-making does not go over well with the people of Alberta. Those members want to have their say on these matters. The real question is, why doesn’t the party want them to have that say?”.Gateman has appealed the decision. .Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
