BOYLE – Boyle mayor Colin Derko says he was taken aback by what he called a “blatant disregard” of the bylaws put in place to prevent political campaigning at the recent Alberta Municipalities (ABMunis) convention in Calgary, singling out Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley for actions he found to be questionable.
Village council voted unanimously at its Sept. 28 meeting to send a letter to ABMunis president Cathy Heron asking for clarity on the organization’s rules surrounding political campaigning during its functions.
“The leader of the Official Opposition was clearly campaigning, which is, to my understanding, against the bylaws for the (ABMunis) convention,” said Derko during the meeting.
Twice a year, ABMunis (formerly Alberta Urban Municipalities Association) gathers municipal politicians and administrators together for conventions and conferences that include discussions on various issues concerning municipal governance. Provincial politicians are often involved and speeches from the Premier and leader of the Official Opposition are commonplace.
“They know what they’re doing, and it was well thought out, I think it was done on purpose, and I think (ABMunis) should acknowledge that because otherwise it’s just going to get pushed by the next party, or individuals … and I don’t want to attend functions that have that kind of crap going on,” said Derko.
“I think it’s a fair question,” said CAO Warren Griffin, who will pen the letter.
“We’re starting to see these things, and people are pushing the envelope and they need to be called out on it,” said Derko, adding he isn’t looking for any kind of reprimand, he just wants it to be clarified and addressed.
Later in a text message Derko clarified there were “campaigning materials placed on the tables prior to the part of the convention where the leaders of the governing party and the Official Opposition address all of us. This is, to my understanding, against our (ABMunis) bylaws.”
He acknowledged the material was removed, but feels it was never addressed properly by the organization at the time, which isn’t a great precedent going forward.
“I feel they should have publicly addressed it and made sure that everyone knows that it was wrong,” he said in the text.
Alberta Municipalities has a policy on soliciting and marketing at convention, said communications manager Scott Lundy in an e-mail Sept. 30, pointing out that “whenever promotional material was distributed, it was quickly gathered up by ABMunis staff members.”
“Our members – nearly 1,100 municipal leaders from across Alberta – heard from more than a dozen provincial cabinet ministers, seven United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership contestants, Premier Jason Kenney and Opposition Leader Rachel Notley on September 22 and 23. The environment is collegial, allowing members and guest speakers to mingle and share their thoughts with one another before and after presentations. Professional networking is encouraged.”
Alberta NDP communications director Benjamin Alldritt said as far as he’s concerned it was a typical conference, with nothing out of the ordinary that he could point out. There was a lot of discussion, a lot of speeches and an abundance of informational literature from all parties, he said.
“Were we campaigning? I mean, yes, we’re always campaigning,” he said in a phone conversation Sept. 29. “It hasn't come up before really. I think it would be inappropriate for the parties to try to fundraise there, but for the Leader of the Opposition to go and criticize a government policy program and to promote an alternative policy program, I think it's business as usual.”
Boyle council agreed unanimously, 5-0, to send a letter to ABMunis for “an explanation as to what and why, and if we can expect more of this in the future.”
“I think it was a blatant disregard for our bylaws and it was purposefully done, these people aren’t stupid. They make these rules, and they were put in place for a reason, and regardless of what party, we’re all supposed to be non-partisan there and I think everybody does a good job of that,” said Derko at the council meeting.
“I just think it was a little bit of a slight almost to the organization.”
