Former Wildrose MLA Bruce McAllister will continue to represent the PC party in the riding of Chestermere – Rocky View following a decision by party officials to eliminate Jamie Lall from the nomination process.
Representatives from the PC party have not provided a specific reason for Lall’s elimination from the ballot. In an emailed statement, PC Alberta executive director Kelley Chalebois said “The vetting process abides by the privacy of the people we vet. As such, we decline further comment.”
Lall, the CEO of Calgary Housing & Employment Services, says he’s disappointed “the people of Chestermere-Rocky View were robbed of their right to participate in the democratic process.” Members of the Lall camp did not receive an explanation for the exclusion and feel the move is a personal attack.
McAllister’s campaign manager, Ken Bossenkool, says they received news of the disqualification late Saturday night.
“We would have loved to go through the nomination,” said Bossenkool, “but we’re happy to have the extra three or four days to go through the gen
Independent pollster Janet Brown believes McAllister embraced the news of his appointment, given the nomination losses of three Wildrose defectors on Saturday.
“It's obviously left some people quite upset, but it had to be a bit of a relief to Bruce McAllister,” said Brown. “After what happened in Highwood, he had to be wondering if he would win this nomination.”
On Saturday, three of the nine Wildrose MLAs who crossed the floor in December to join the PC party were unsuccessful in their attempt to secure a PC nomination:
- Former Wildrose leader Danielle Smith was defeated by Carrie Fischer in the contest for the PC nomination in Highwood
- MLA Gary Bikman lost the nomination race to Brian Brewin in Cardston-Taber-Warner
- MLA Rod Fox was defeated by Peter Dewit in Lacombe-Ponoka
With files from CTV's Bridget Brown
