Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre constituents were recently told to accept the fact that MLA Jason Nixon stands as their candidate in the May provincial election..No, the disputed nomination will not be reopened, despite a petition signed by 400 UCP constituency members calling for a vote at a special general meeting (SGM.).It’s a done deal, they were told. Procedure was followed. And best to take note of that other pro-Nixon petition, said to have 500 signatures, threatening to hold an SGM to oust the constituency association (CA) board if it continued to make a fuss..There’s an election to focus on, so move along now..Bad idea to tell strong Conservative, staunchly pro-Premier Danielle Smith rural Alberta grassroots to suck it up and just move on. The CA refuses to obediently walk in lockstep with UCP Executive Board President Cynthia Moore, who allegedly — according to several sources, but not verified — arbitrarily made the decision without consulting the board to not reopen the nomination..In a blistering letter obtained by the Western Standard, CA President Aryn Werezak is holding Moore’s feet to the fire. Werezak outlined only “two paths forward” in negotiations that the party requested be held with the CA board after dismissing its concerns..The first was to “honour the democracy of our constituency and allow our nomination to be re-opened,” wrote Werezak. “The second path forward is that you take full 100% responsibility for disallowing the nomination to be re-opened and admit in writing that you denied it being voted on, with a message that meets our CA Board Executive's satisfaction and sent to every member in our constituency saying as much, no later than Friday, March 3rd, 2023.”.The Western Standard requested an interview with Moore. “We don't have any comments to make at this time. Jason Nixon is our candidate in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre and our team is focused on the general election that's now less than 90 days away,” wrote UCP spokesman Dave Prisco in an email Thursday.. Cynthia MooreCynthia Moore. .A second request Friday for an interview to give Moore the opportunity to respond to the Werezak’s letter received no response..Likewise, Werezak did not return calls..Nixon’s only challenger, Eckville farmer Tim Hoven was disqualified from seeking the nomination last March. He was dishonestly branded a racist. At the time, many constituents took issue with the Local Constituency Nomination Committee (LCNC) making that call..In her letter to Moore, Werezak outlines one reason why. “Honour the democracy of our constituency and allow our nomination to be re-opened under the viewpoint that the LCNC was not acting in an unbiased fashion,” she wrote. “When the wife (a former CA director) of the sitting MLA personally nominates the entire elected LCNC, all of whom are either close friends of the MLA or benefitting from him in their careers, and then proceeds to meet with the newly elected LCNC behind closed doors immediately afterwards, it does not show for a group of individuals that will act objectively,” she alleged..“It portrays a group of individuals who will do whatever they can to protect their guy, including destroying the reputation of anyone who would dare to challenge the MLA.”.Perhaps there was nothing untoward within the LCNC. The problem is that many UCP members have doubts..The recent petition calling for an SGM to be held to vote on the nomination being reopened was signed by about 400 members — 142 signatures were officially submitted..A counter petition with 500 signatures called for an SGM to oust the new board..In a February 17 letter Moore dismissed the legitimacy of the petition calling for an SGM to vote on reopening the nomination. “This purpose cannot be accomplished at an SGM and any motion passed calling for the nomination contest to be re-opened will be of no legal effect. Neither the members of a constituency association at a general meeting nor a CA Board have the ability to re-open a nomination contest. Nomination contests are governed by the Candidate Selection Rules, which are uniformly applied across the province,” wrote Moore. But she said the party “verified” that the petition to oust the board met UCP rules requirements..In her letter to Moore, Werezak challenged both claims..“The problem is that we are bound to and acting on behalf of members and a duly submitted petition that has been completely rejected by yourself. I can't even say it's been rejected by the UCP party board as they were never given the opportunity to discuss or vote on the matter whatsoever. This was wrong.”.“We believe it was also out of line to send our board, nay, some of our board, and some constituents at large, a letter that claimed there was still a further need to verify the signatures on our properly submitted petition, yet another petition, submitted incorrectly and completely bypassing our board, was somehow accepted. This completely violates section 6.5 of the bylaws…”.“But yet you took it upon yourself to reject the possible outcome of one, rendering the SGM useless and yet approved the other. You sent a letter to us without the knowledge of your board, making decisions that were not yours alone to make.”.“This action should give cause for serious reflection on your important position moving forward as these were not the actions of someone working in the best interest of the party or the members of the party. Never forget, without the members, we have no party.”.Werezak also expressed support for Smith..“I can say that our board, and the vast majority of our members, are behind Danielle Smith 110% to win this election. We are, however, not impressed with the tactics that have been used to push aside our constituency's right to democracy.”.“This is not how trust is built in a party, but exactly how it breaks and implodes on itself, which I would hope is not the very heart of the plan and reason for the block.”.It’s no secret that a handful of Kenneyites pine, even plot, to have Smith to fail and go away..Concerns have been raised that airing UCP disputes so close to the election will harm the party. Perhaps. The NDP will surely pounce on this..It’s also likely that seeing people stand up to the old guard will inspire many who gave up on the UCP to get out and vote.
Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre constituents were recently told to accept the fact that MLA Jason Nixon stands as their candidate in the May provincial election..No, the disputed nomination will not be reopened, despite a petition signed by 400 UCP constituency members calling for a vote at a special general meeting (SGM.).It’s a done deal, they were told. Procedure was followed. And best to take note of that other pro-Nixon petition, said to have 500 signatures, threatening to hold an SGM to oust the constituency association (CA) board if it continued to make a fuss..There’s an election to focus on, so move along now..Bad idea to tell strong Conservative, staunchly pro-Premier Danielle Smith rural Alberta grassroots to suck it up and just move on. The CA refuses to obediently walk in lockstep with UCP Executive Board President Cynthia Moore, who allegedly — according to several sources, but not verified — arbitrarily made the decision without consulting the board to not reopen the nomination..In a blistering letter obtained by the Western Standard, CA President Aryn Werezak is holding Moore’s feet to the fire. Werezak outlined only “two paths forward” in negotiations that the party requested be held with the CA board after dismissing its concerns..The first was to “honour the democracy of our constituency and allow our nomination to be re-opened,” wrote Werezak. “The second path forward is that you take full 100% responsibility for disallowing the nomination to be re-opened and admit in writing that you denied it being voted on, with a message that meets our CA Board Executive's satisfaction and sent to every member in our constituency saying as much, no later than Friday, March 3rd, 2023.”.The Western Standard requested an interview with Moore. “We don't have any comments to make at this time. Jason Nixon is our candidate in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre and our team is focused on the general election that's now less than 90 days away,” wrote UCP spokesman Dave Prisco in an email Thursday.. Cynthia MooreCynthia Moore. .A second request Friday for an interview to give Moore the opportunity to respond to the Werezak’s letter received no response..Likewise, Werezak did not return calls..Nixon’s only challenger, Eckville farmer Tim Hoven was disqualified from seeking the nomination last March. He was dishonestly branded a racist. At the time, many constituents took issue with the Local Constituency Nomination Committee (LCNC) making that call..In her letter to Moore, Werezak outlines one reason why. “Honour the democracy of our constituency and allow our nomination to be re-opened under the viewpoint that the LCNC was not acting in an unbiased fashion,” she wrote. “When the wife (a former CA director) of the sitting MLA personally nominates the entire elected LCNC, all of whom are either close friends of the MLA or benefitting from him in their careers, and then proceeds to meet with the newly elected LCNC behind closed doors immediately afterwards, it does not show for a group of individuals that will act objectively,” she alleged..“It portrays a group of individuals who will do whatever they can to protect their guy, including destroying the reputation of anyone who would dare to challenge the MLA.”.Perhaps there was nothing untoward within the LCNC. The problem is that many UCP members have doubts..The recent petition calling for an SGM to be held to vote on the nomination being reopened was signed by about 400 members — 142 signatures were officially submitted..A counter petition with 500 signatures called for an SGM to oust the new board..In a February 17 letter Moore dismissed the legitimacy of the petition calling for an SGM to vote on reopening the nomination. “This purpose cannot be accomplished at an SGM and any motion passed calling for the nomination contest to be re-opened will be of no legal effect. Neither the members of a constituency association at a general meeting nor a CA Board have the ability to re-open a nomination contest. Nomination contests are governed by the Candidate Selection Rules, which are uniformly applied across the province,” wrote Moore. But she said the party “verified” that the petition to oust the board met UCP rules requirements..In her letter to Moore, Werezak challenged both claims..“The problem is that we are bound to and acting on behalf of members and a duly submitted petition that has been completely rejected by yourself. I can't even say it's been rejected by the UCP party board as they were never given the opportunity to discuss or vote on the matter whatsoever. This was wrong.”.“We believe it was also out of line to send our board, nay, some of our board, and some constituents at large, a letter that claimed there was still a further need to verify the signatures on our properly submitted petition, yet another petition, submitted incorrectly and completely bypassing our board, was somehow accepted. This completely violates section 6.5 of the bylaws…”.“But yet you took it upon yourself to reject the possible outcome of one, rendering the SGM useless and yet approved the other. You sent a letter to us without the knowledge of your board, making decisions that were not yours alone to make.”.“This action should give cause for serious reflection on your important position moving forward as these were not the actions of someone working in the best interest of the party or the members of the party. Never forget, without the members, we have no party.”.Werezak also expressed support for Smith..“I can say that our board, and the vast majority of our members, are behind Danielle Smith 110% to win this election. We are, however, not impressed with the tactics that have been used to push aside our constituency's right to democracy.”.“This is not how trust is built in a party, but exactly how it breaks and implodes on itself, which I would hope is not the very heart of the plan and reason for the block.”.It’s no secret that a handful of Kenneyites pine, even plot, to have Smith to fail and go away..Concerns have been raised that airing UCP disputes so close to the election will harm the party. Perhaps. The NDP will surely pounce on this..It’s also likely that seeing people stand up to the old guard will inspire many who gave up on the UCP to get out and vote.
