The Chestermere-Strathmore UCP Constituency Association (CA) board was ousted during the Annual General Meeting on Aug. 27.
The CA was reinstated in March after procedure discrepancies were found, voiding any decisions that were made.
In August, more than 400 people attended the AGM, where the previous board was defeated and replaced.
The new board has publicly supported Chantelle de Jonge, however, she has not passed the vetting process by the CA or the UCP, and nominations are not open in Chestermere-Strathmore, explained previous CA board member, Peter Tindall.
“Many of their supporters seem to feel that the new board can anoint their preferred candidate. This is completely false. Only the members at large can pick the candidate. It is perhaps telling that they have done nothing to disabuse their supporters of this notion,” Tindall said.
During the time of the AGM, many of Chestermere-Strathmore MLA, and UCP leadership candidate Leela Aheer’s supporters were away on vacation or harvesting and were not able to attend the meeting.
Tindall believes the new board has varying views from Albertans regarding COVID vaccines and public health measures.
“They seem to oppose any public health measures that were taken in the face of COVID and the vital role that vaccines played in keeping us and our loved ones safe,” Tindall said. “They are free to hold that opinion, but I suspect that most Albertans would disagree with them.”
In Addition, Tindall also believes the new board members could be uncomfortable with the work Aheer has done to ensure Albertans have reproductive choices, and equal rights.
“As for suggestions that this result is a repudiation of MLA Aheer, she won about 50 per cent of the vote in the previous election and the vast majority of those voters were not UCP members,” Tindall said.
Going forward, Aheer is working with police services to find the perpetrators who recently hacked her Facebook accounts, posting sexual exploitation, and illegal content.
“This is unspeakably vile, and the perpetrators will be caught,” Tindall said.
Tindall added that the suggestions of Aheer allowing her social media to be hacked to garner sympathy are false.
“Most Albertans are not particularly ideological. They are busy trying to make a living and do what’s best for their families. Albertans are generous and believe it is our duty to support their neighbours who are facing hardship. Albertans are Canadians first and we need a leader that is willing to engage all of Canada to address our many legitimate grievances,” Tindall said. “Canada is a country that attracts thousands of hard-working people because as Canadians we believe in the rule of law, and we believe everyone has a right to be treated equally. That is important.”
*A correction was made to say the previous Constituency Association board was ousted on Sept. 8*
