Ramped up pressure from fed up Innisfail-Sylvan Lake UCP members paid off. An overdue annual general meeting (AGM) will finally be held February 18..Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen, flanked by an “entourage,” even made a rare appearance Friday at a town hall to smooth things over with his disgruntled constituents..Hundreds of UCP members aim to turf the constituency association (CA) board accused of being secretive about finances, controlling, and too much of a family affair..Dreeshen’s mother Judy Dreeshen is a director. His uncle Charlie Moore serves as CA president..But Uncle Charlie is digging in, refusing to relinquish power to “right-wing extremists” — his description of Take Back Alberta (TBA) advocates who comprise about one-third of the resistance — without a fight..“They’re storming the castle and we’re heating up the boiling oil, I guess,” said a defiant Moore..“I've sent my troops forward to try to talk to some of the more logical ones in that group. We have to convert some of them. Surely there’s some common sense in there somewhere. They can’t all be totally extremists.”.Would Innisfail’s Mary Flemming, 74, be one of the extremists he speaks of?.Flemming was among 50 people who braved a storm to attend the town hall in Benalto’s Elks Hall..Constituency members were “surprised” Dreeshen, who ghosted them during former premier Jason Kenney’s era, called a meeting..“It was the recent pressure of about 100 people and at least two provincial board members that encouraged him,” said Flemming..“He was there with an entourage. He had about six or seven people with him from his team.”.Flemming’s been politically active dating back to the 1980 birth of the Western Canada Concept party..“I was pretty emotional. Everybody else kept their head pretty good.”.“Devin has potential. I said at the meeting that his family members should do the right thing and step down. I feel they are more of a hindrance to him. They’re a tight little group.”.According to party governance rules an AGM should have been held before the end of December..Friday’s announcement left one day to meet the minimum 21-day membership requirement before an AGM to be eligible to vote..“Certainly, with the AGM being called the group’s feeling better. My annoyance is that the date was called to not allow us to sell more memberships. That was super close. To me it felt deliberate.”.“That’s the tight ship that Charlie Moore runs. You get the sense he’s in control and it’s going to be his way or the highway.”.Constituents have long complained about being willing but unable to participate in affairs because their CA shut them out..Nonetheless, Flemming said progress was made at the meeting..“Although some felt Devin didn’t answer all the questions, he answered them reasonably well.”.Alberta UCP MLAs still face anger over Kenney’s tyrannical COVID-19 mandates..“Devin’s between a rock and a hard place because of all the after-effect of the COVID lockdown. How can you backtrack? You can’t undo.”.“A lot of the questions aimed at him were why he ignored so many of us. We sent emails, letters, and made phone calls over time asking ‘Why aren’t you meeting with us? You just didn’t reach out to us when there were a lot of questions about COVID.’”.COVID-19 spurred people to get more involved in local politics..“It took COVID to wake people up to how quickly we can lose our freedoms when we’re not paying attention and not active. People are learning what CA boards are and how they work. When they work well, they’re just amazing. When they’re run badly or secretly the frustration is great.”. “There’s a good chance this CA board will get voted out. We’re rallying.”.Uncle Charlie doesn’t much like the idea of people giving the impression that his CA must be rid of a bunch of “Evel Knievels.”.“How come everybody else says you're the number one board in the province? How come they’ve raised over $1,000,000 in the last five years under Charlie's leadership?”.He disputes that he’s shut out members..“If anything, I've been too lenient and let them get away with slanderous statements.” .“The biggest beef is that Devin isn’t accountable. Well, accountable to who? There’s maybe 200 of them and there's 2,700 UCP members in our constituency. He gives them more than their share of attention.”.However, the number of people aiming to vote the board stands at about 500..Despite UCP feuding, it would be premature of the NDP — which unlike the UCP feuds behind closed doors — to plan a victory party for its yet to be nominated candidate running in the May 29 election..Once the AGM affair is sorted out, members said they’ll focus on getting the no longer AWOL Dreeshen re-elected..In fairness, Kenney ruled with an iron fist keeping MLAs on a leash. UCP members are encouraged by Premier Danielle Smith prioritizing accountability and accessibility..And there’s been a notable shift in attitude on the UCP Executive Board following October’s election of nine TBA-backed members..Members in several constituencies complained the old board bent the rules to carry out orders from Kenney and his inner circle at AGMs and nomination meetings to get their preferred candidates elected..Constituents at Benalto’s meeting were pleased to see three — all newly elected — provincial board members attend..“One was actually a director for the region,” said Pamela Steinke, who stopped in to observe..“I was just driving through on my way to Calgary. Someone said ‘Hey, you should swing by this meeting.’”.“I think it went well. Devin answered some hard questions.”.Area farmer Mark Johansen wrote a December letter to the CA, the UCP board, and Smith, calling for an AGM..He predicts the AGM vote will be “tight.” Although hopeful, he doesn’t underestimate Uncle Charlie and company..“At the end of the day, they’re politically savvy.”
