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Loyalists in the party complain about the high staff who dominate the volunteers, the total harassment and the candidates forced to go on horseback.
Author of the article:
Don Braid • Calgary Herald
Date Posted:
June 20, 2022 • 4 hours ago • 3 minutes of reading • 24 comments Alberta NPD leader Rachel Notley speaks at a press conference in front of Calgary City Hall on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia
Content of the article
The United Conservative Party rebels won their fight. Prime Minister Jason Kenney will resign. At the moment, the party’s internal anger engine is running low on fuel.
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But another party now has its own serious revolt. This is the NDP.
Loyalists in the party complain about senior staff dominating the volunteers, total harassment and candidates forced to go on horseback, leaving out people who have worked for months for a nomination.
Leader Rachel Notley apologized over the weekend after initially downplaying the issue. She vowed to take it seriously and ordered an outside investigation.
This happened only after the Canadian press made the conflict public.
Three months earlier, a letter from 15 mountain managers had been sent out detailing the complaints and demanding reform.
The party hoped to deal with the problems calmly until after the elections next May. As usual, the only antidote is advertising.
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The NDP headquarters should be very alarmed, because the 15 constituencies complained of are outside Edmonton.
They range from Peace River to Vegreville, Innisfail, Calgary, Rocky Mountain House and beyond, exactly the areas where the NDP should get seats if it hopes to win the next election.
Three volunteers on horseback with grievances also act as party vice presidents for all the southern and central regions of the NDP and the rural caucus of the NDP. They are serious actors of the main party, not of the type that moves away with the arrival of an election.
Edmonton riding associations are NDP fat cats. All but one have an MLA to support them. They have the influence in the NDP provincial caucus, and will probably do so again after the next election.
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By contrast, no NDP member was elected in any of the 15 constituencies that filed the complaints (including three in Calgary).
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Rachel Notley admits that the Alberta NDP has trouble dealing with staff and volunteers
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With cash, the Alberta NDP publishes early election-style announcements
Part of the problem is that the central party is putting a lot of pressure on these “orphan” motorcycle groups, imposing candidates or tipping the scales in favor of a favorite.
But the NDP is no longer a party that is forced to drop volunteer losers in most constituencies, just to show the flag.
Today’s party is now a big, competitive and well-funded team. Many people, including newcomers, want to be candidates. They have the crazy idea that they can care.
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This highly centralized, top-down party has not made the transition. It resorts to the old ways.
The canary for this mine pit was the resignation of Calgary Bow President Krista Li in February after former councilor Druh Farrell suddenly appeared as a candidate.
He had worked for the nomination for months; but then, he said, the local board was “blinded” and Farrell was forced. The party claims that the nomination could have been challenged.
The letter from the 15 constituencies was sent at that time. When it was finally made public, other disillusioned new Democrats turned to social media.
A resigning president said: “It was intimidating and blatantly disrespectful on the part of an employee… of the party ”.
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He was “increasingly frustrated by the lack of communication and toxic culture of key party and key personnel.”
There is virtually no criticism of the party in Notley itself. He garnered 98% support in a leadership review, while Kenney resigned when only 51.4% of party voters supported him.
Most workers in any political campaign are unpaid volunteers. They far outnumber the paid party staff who serve as a point of contact with the mountains and local volunteers.
The most stupid thing a paid political official can do, absolutely the most thoughtless and arrogant practice, is to intimidate, command, and intimidate the very people willing to work for nothing.
They have nothing to lose but their hopes.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald.
Twitter: @DonBraid
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