Well, it looks like many UCP constituents of Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre were forced to take one for the team to preserve party unity... And to protect Premier Danielle Smith from a remnant of elitist Kenneyites — longing for the good old days and the previous regime’s practice of doling out backroom favours, that didn’t always serve the best interests of Albertans..A self-serving few keep nipping at Smith’s heels while she’s leading a major battle to stop the NDP from winning the May 29 provincial election..Smith has massive grassroots support in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre. But four or five outsider MLAs and ministers, backed by old guard UCP officials, threw a tantrum threatening a revolt if the dubious nomination that MLA Jason Nixon secured was reopened..Maybe theirs was false bravado, maybe not. But, a big risk to take so close to an election. So, it didn’t matter that hundreds of disgruntled constituency members signed a petition saying that’s what they wanted..As one UCP member described it: “They were willing to blow up the entire party and maybe the province, so Nixon didn’t lose his seat.” And so, Nixon, house leader under former premier Jason Kenney — who appears to carry mysterious clout despite being demoted backbencher status by Smith — will represent the riding in May, unless something drastic unfolds. One never knows..Once again, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre constituents weren’t afforded a choice. Just like when they weren’t allowed to choose their candidate after dirty tactics disqualified Nixon’s popular challenger Eckville farmer Tim Hoven last March. An appeal was rejected. He was dishonestly, shamefully branded racist..After an in-camera meeting Thursday, with a party executive board member in attendance, the constituency association (CA) made a motion to withdraw the petition calling for a special general meeting (SGM) to vote on whether the party should reopen the nomination..The petition was signed by about 400 members —142 signatures were officially submitted. Only 100 are required. It was forwarded to the CA Executive Board..In turn, a counter petition was withdrawn. That petition with 500 signatures had been submitted directly to the Executive Board, bypassing party rules requiring it first be sent to the CA, calling for an SGM to oust the new board..There was a flurry of calls by Executive Board members surprised when they learned of a February 17 letter from UCP President Cynthia Moore, obtained by the Western Standard, in response to a February 14 letter from CA president Aryn Werezak,.Apparently, the provincial board was excluded from discussion of this matter..In the letter, Moore noted that the UCP board of directors established Candidate Selection Rules and Procedures that guide nomination contests which are “diligently followed at all times.” And in reference to the Nixon/Hoeven fiasco, she said that “all avenues of appeal have been exhausted in this case.”.“In your letter, you indicated that you received a petition with 142 signatures calling for a special general meeting of the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre UCP Constituency Association,” wrote Moore..“We have received a copy of that petition and are verifying the validity of the signatures. We expect to be able to confirm whether the petition meets the requirements under section 6.5 of the CA Rules in the next few days.”.Section 6.5 states that a SGM may be called by a CA board within 45 days of receipt of a petition signed by 100 or one-third of CA members requesting it be held for a specific purpose..At issue is the interpretation of 6.5. Those who called for a SGM to reopen the nomination took issue with Moore needing to confirm if requirements were met, arguing that the criteria were indeed met and that the decision to hold a SGM on the matter rests with the CA, not the Executive Board..“The stated purpose for the SGM is ‘to hold a vote on re-opening the UCP Nomination in the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre Constituency.’ 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..Then Moore turned her attention to the other petition that was launched by the same forces calling Hoven a racist, making allegations that were never fact-checked by the party..“We also wish to advise you that the Party has received a petition of nearly 500 signatures requesting a meeting for the purpose of “immediately voting to remove the President, the CFO, the Secretary, and Directors at Large of the Rimbey Rocky Mountain House Sundre Constituency Association,” wrote Moore. “The party has verified that the petition meets the requirements of section 6.5 of the CA Rules.”.Moore didn’t mention anything about “verifying the validity” of those 500 signatures..Or the fact that might not have been a valid petition because it wasn’t run through the proper channels..Moore offered to meet with the CA, along with two other Executive Board members “to try to find some common ground” and suggested that be done this week..To date, no meeting has been scheduled..And so, the struggle between the old guard, the grassroots, and a duly elected CA with a different vision simmers..And the grassroots are royally fed up.The also a nagging uncertainty — legitimate or not — that old guard Nixon doesn’t share widespread support of Smith..“There are a lot more of us fighting for her than there are in the old guard. But the old guard thinks they’re bigger than maybe they are,” one constituent told the Western Standard..The Western Standard reached out to Werezak. No response..The Western Standard also requested an interview with Moore. No response.
