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Local UCP constituency has growing pains

It wasn’t a great week for the new UCP Highwood constituency. Two candidates from the Oct. 16 UCP nomination election filed formal complains about irregularities during the process.

It wasn’t a great week for the new UCP Highwood constituency. Two candidates from the Oct. 16 UCP nomination election filed formal complains about irregularities during the process. The nomination was won by RJ Sigurdson in the maximum three ballots in the four-person race. It’s disconcerting the complaints came from candidates Carrie Fischer, who filed her concerns in October, and the incumbent Wayne Anderson. Both have experience in the political arena, with Fischer running in the 2015 provincial election — where she lost as a PC candidate to Anderson. The complaints didn’t come from a pair of political rookies, they know a little bit of the protocol of the nomination process. So if an issue of bias being shown for other candidates is raised by these two, it has to be taken seriously. The UCP has rejected Fischer’s concerns and, at this point, it has to be assumed the party did its due diligence. Meanwhile, Anderson has filed his concerns with Elections Alberta, and it could be a while before that independent party weighs in on its decision. Doubly alarming is the complaints of former UCP Highwood constituency president Laurie Rennich saying there were two sexually inappropriate comments made towards her by a volunteer within the constituency association. It would be too easy to claim these as allegations of a bitter person who knew she was having major difficulties within party ranks. All sexual harassment concerns must be given their due diligence, and the UCP states it has done so. It’s a bad look for a new party, which is trying to shake the image of an ultra-conservative old boys club. Are the allegations going to cost the UCP the Highwood seat in the spring election? Not a chance. But this new party has some local growing pains going into the provincial election.  




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