Claims that former Wildrose MLAs critical of Premier Jason Kenney hold “fringe views” and bear “personal grudges” could simply be dismissed as Twitter chatter..But for two important details..Issues Manager Chad Hallman, behind the controversial tweets, is employed with Issues Management Office, a department in Kenney’s Premier’s Office..Chad Hallman is also the son of Alan Hallman, key political strategist for the Alberta premier..“The efforts to remove @jkenney as leader are largely driven by personal grudges & fringe views,” tweeted Hallman on Tuesday..“This bizarre obsession with fringe politics is not reflective of mainstream Albertans..“Donovan, Fildebrandt, Strankman, Beasley — now Barnes and Loewen.”.“One of the reasons it’s important to support @jkenney not to turn the @Alberta_UCP over to the fringe.”.Hallman took aim at former Wildrose and PC MLA Ian Donovan; former Wildrose and UCP MLA Rick Strankman; former UCP nomination candidate Todd Beasley; Independent MLA Drew Barnes; Independent MLA Todd Loewen; and former Wildrose MLA (now Western Standard Publisher) Derek Fildebrandt..“Don’t get down off your horse to fight the pigs because you’re just going to get dirty and the pigs like it,” former Drumheller-Stettler MLA Strankman, told the Western Standard..“But the fact the guy’s a government employee must be addressed. What about Albertans?”.Many members of the so-called “fringe” Hallman dismissed are Albertans who voted UCP or Wildrose and pay his salary. .Strankman took aim at Hallman on Facebook..“Recently, I was identified in a tweet by a government employee, Chad Hallman… He referred to my ‘bizarre obsession with fringe politics’ which is, in his opinion, ‘not selective of mainstream conservatism,’” wrote Strankman..“His comments came in response to a former Wildrose colleague of mine, Ian Donovan, who expressed concerns with the process and arguments used in the United Conservative Party’s recent decision to disqualify Jodie Gateman from running in a UCP nomination.”.Gateman, who was vying to replace UCP Deputy House Leader Joseph Schow in Cardston-Siksika, was disqualified for alleged “hateful” Facebook postings. She’s appealing..The Western Standard received nearly 200 e-mails upset with the UCP brass for disqualifying her for what they say is an effort to protect the local MLA Schow..“If government employee Hallman’s public comments are in any way reflective of the attitude in the Premier’s Office, does this mean they will view the grassroots of the former Wildrose Party to be nothing more than a fringe minority with unacceptable views? Should we, therefore, expect many more disqualification of grassroots candidates at the whim of the Premier’s Office?” Strankman wrote on Facebook..“For a government employee to discredit the former Wildrose Party in such a manner is just further evidence that the condescending and arrogant, top-down legacy of the former Progressive Conservatives is now firmly re-entrenched in the governing United Conservative party.”.Donovan, who represented Little Bow — which mostly makes up the new Cardston-Siksika constituency before it was redrawn — said he doesn’t believe the idea for the tweets originated with Hallman..“He works for Kenney or the province, either way, he gets paid to defend him,” said Donovan..“I think he was probably directed to divert the narrative. That’s what they like to do in the premier’s office. That’s an old political game. When something’s going wrong, if you can divert the narrative to something else so that people aren’t watching what they were just talking about, it hopes to get distracted..“Whether we like Mr. Kenney or not, I give the man a lot of credit. He is a tactician. He knows how to organize. He knows how to keep things going. It is all above board? That’s, I guess, what the question is.”.Former Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt — citing a “clear conflict of interest” as publisher of the Western Standard — declined to comment..That the UCP took aim at Kenney critics came as “no surprise” to Drew Barnes, who sits as an Independent for Cypress-Medicine Hat after serving as a Wildrose MLA from 2012 to 2017, and a UCP MLA from 2017 to 2021..Kenney kicked Barnes out of his caucus last May..He signed a letter, along with more than a dozen MLAs, for criticizing the UCP’s lockdowns and forced-masking mandates. .“The premier’s fighting for his political life right now. He has so not met Albertan’s expectations,” said Barnes..“Politically, we’re in a very trying time right now. The world is volatile. Our relationship with Canada, our resource status with America is still very questionable, not happening. And here we have somebody in the premier’s office playing social media games instead of working for Albertans.”.Barnes noted that one of Kenney’s failings has been fiscal mismanagement..“He talked about getting the size and cost of government down. But Alberta is spending $6 billion-a-year more than the NDP spent.” .Beasley was disqualified at the last moment from the UCP nomination race in Brooks-Medicine Hat for posting what the party called “insensitive, inappropriate” comments on Facebook. He is now affiliated with the Wildrose Independence Party. .“Hallman is a shill for his father who is one of Kenney’s right-hand strategists. He doesn’t have the background to understand the political depth that I do,” said Beasley..“I remember when (former prime minister) Pierre Trudeau was elected. I remember when (former Alberta premier) Peter Lougheed was elected. I remember the epic battles of East versus West. I remember vividly the issues of a Manitoba-east controlled Canadian confederation and the enormous oppression that caused the west for as far back as I can remember..“I’ve had a lifetime of this dysfunctional confederation as most of us have. I don’t want to be a separatist. This dysfunction has made me one. I would like nothing more than to be a proud Canadian..“I am far from a fringe. All you have do is look at the movements that have been here for generations. And anybody that characterizes it as a fringe just is not paying attention.”.Many, if not most, UCP MLAs were elected on the backs of Kenney’s broken promises, he said..“He’s a smooth-talking, say-anything professional politician who campaigned in the last election on promises he never intended to keep. So, who’s the fringe?” Beasley said..Despite past challenges with Kenney, Beasley said he took the premier at his word and supported him..“I believed him when he said he would take on (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau and he would defend Alberta and the West’s interests,” he said..“I believed him when he said we’re going to have recall legislation that’s gainful..“I believed him when he said we’re going to have a Fair Deal Panel, we’re going to listen to the wishes of Albertans and we’re going to implement those wishes..“I believed him when he said he was going to have a referendum on equalization.”.The reason Kenney’s “tanking” in the polls is “everybody now realizes that’s he just not as advertised,” he said..Former UCP caucus chair Loewen resigned from his position last May stating Kenney was causing dysfunction in the party and needed to step down as leader. The caucus narrowly voted to remove him and Barnes. .“Kenney calls everyone to the right and left of him radicals and extremists,” said Loewen, who sits as an Independent in Central Peace- Notley..“With strong support of about 5% of Albertans, I’d suggest he is the fringe.”.On Tuesday the Western Standard reported that following a complaint by Loewen, the RCMP launched an investigation into the actions of members of Kenney’s staff prior to the UCP annual general meeting in Calgary last November..“It’s odd that the ‘Issues Manager’ is out on Twitter slandering people, creating more issues. I’d suggest he spend more time making sure his boss tells the truth and there’s no corruption in the premier’s office,” said Loewen..Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
