Allegations of processes “flawed or open to exploitation” have led to a call for the results of the hotly contested Camrose UCP nomination to be overturned..MLA Jackie Lovely won the August 4-6 nomination to represent Camrose in May’s provincial election, defeating challenger Beaver County Reeve Kevin Smook in a 446-390 vote..Smook’s campaign said it was at a disadvantage being denied access to dozens of membership names the party should have provided long before voting was two-thirds completed..There's a pattern here..Camrose is just the latest in a string of nomination contests and constituency association (CA) board elections, that left UCP members challenging the process or calling for results to be nullified..“This nomination should be overturned. The biggest thing I’d like to see done is we have another nomination because of the way it was handled,” said Dale Oleksyn, Smook’s campaign manager..Oleksyn said the full membership list was released to Smook’s campaign only after lead scrutineer Kyle McIntosh and returning officer Scott Garner demanded it be turned over..Oleksyn said it was up to the party to provide both campaigns with complete lists..“We caught them with 56 names that we can prove. Now we’re finding out that we didn’t catch all the names they had. The number is upwards of 74,” said Oleksyn..“We received the 56 names at 7 p.m. on day two with an hour to go for voting. They had the advantage over us because they had the full list.”.“We weren’t given a fair chance to talk to these members and try to get their vote.”.McIntosh confirmed he challenged irregularities noticed on the first day that substantially increased by day two..“The process that I observed was that across three days of voting, as a scrutineer, there was an irregularly high number of people going to the help desk. They weren’t on the voter list,” said McIntosh..“Throughout the process I was concerned that the party had a record of these names, and the other campaign was the only one that had an official record of stamped forms.”.Lovely said she worked hard to sell memberships and followed the rules.She denied her campaign had early access to an updated membership list..“I sold over 700 memberships in the 2022 nomination and was able to independently track and communicate with these members. In the end, however, my opponent and I would have obtained access to an official, updated list from the party at the same time,” she said in a written statement to the Western Standard..Oleksyn has yet to receive a reply to an August 12 letter sent to UCP Executive Director Dustin van Vugt asking the party to investigate..But then he didn’t receive a reply to a letter he wrote to UCP official Kyle Braun on July 14 in which he also raised concerns..“I believe there were several processes that are either flawed or open to exploitation,” wrote Oleksyn to van Vugt..“Our team uncovered additional memberships that were stamped by the Party on the 14th of July, but of which the Party, including its Nominations Director, were adamant we were not entitled to receive.”.In the letter to van Vugt, Oleksyn also alleged Lovely’s campaign used taxpayer-funded resources while campaigning..Lovely denied the charge..“No taxpayer resources were used in this nomination. That is strictly against the rules.”.Meanwhile, some alarmed constituency members are now questioning Lovely’s loyalty to the UCP..Doubts were raised due to a comment made at the Camrose voting station by Chad Hallman, on leave from working in Premier Jason Kenney’s office..Hallman is working on contract for nomination candidates and was hired by Lovely to help with getting out the vote on the day of the election..“The UCP is talking about unity, Chad Hallman said outright said to our lead scrutineer Kyle McIntosh — and I was standing there — if Travis Toews is not successful in the leadership election, Jackie is going to cross the floor if Danielle Smith wins the nomination.”.McIntosh confirmed the statement was made..Hallman could not be reached for comment..Lovely denied this is her plan..“I also want to be clear that I did not personally make any comments about ‘crossing the floor,” said Lovely..“I ran for election under Danielle Smith in 2012 and would serve with her if she won the UCP leadership, just as I would under Travis Toews, Brian Jean, Rebecca Schulz, or any other candidate chosen by the members. I don’t know what anyone on my campaign may have said privately, but the UCP has strict rules against floor-crossing, which I support.”.Lovely, a former Wildrose Party candidate in Edmonton-Ellerslie, was elected Camrose MLA in 2019..Smook ran for the Alberta Party in Camrose in 2019 but joined the UCP in August 2021. He has been a Camrose CA board member since last October..The Smook campaign took issue with Lovely campaign voicemails to members identifying Smook as an Alberta Party candidate and not a fellow UCP contestant..“It's time for real conservatives to stop fighting each other and start fighting the NDP,” said Lovely..Oleskyn said unity is hampered it when staffers are sent in to swarm these venues on behalf of one candidate, as the UCP has a habit of doing..“There were staffers on location. If they’re talking about unity, they shouldn’t have stuck their noses in this campaign. Let the campaign take its course,” he said..“Sending down six or seven people that work for the party, that’s wrong. They were out for Jackie to win, and Kevin never had a fair chance.”.Oleksyn said he has “repeatedly” heard members say they’ll “take their wallets and their votes and leave the party over this conduct.”.Members have repeatedly pointed a finger at party officials for bending rules to support preferred candidates and meddling into what should be grassroots decisions..Cardston-Siksika, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Sherwood Park, Chestermere-Strathmore, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake — have all seen challengers smeared and disqualified on flimsy excuses, or rules disregarded at raucous CA board elections..The UCP did not respond to a request for comment.
