Wildrose sailing through third quarter: unprecedented support locally

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Albeit the damage caused by the heavily criticized actions of 11 Wildrose Alliance Party members crossing the floor to the Progressive Conservative Party nearly a year ago – actions that decimated the party’s number of legislative representatives and fuelled feelings of deception – the remaining party members picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and worked relentlessly for a 360 degree turnaround, showing newfound strength in the party and the Strathmore-Brooks constituency.
Not only was the Oct. 15 annual general meeting for the Strathmore-Brooks constituency described as the largest in its history, the Strathmore-Brooks Constituency Association board also more than doubled in size, elected a new Strathmore-based president, and showed greater diversity in representing areas throughout the constituency than before.
Shortly after the AGM, the Wildrose Party stole the spotlight province-wide with the reveal of the third-quarter fundraising totals that showed the party with a jaw-dropping $263,875 – leaving in their wake the New Democratic Party with $82,745, the Alberta Liberal Party at $29,285, and the Progressive Conservative Party with $15,575.
“The Wildrose in the last three months raised 18 times as much money as the PC party and three times as much as the NDP,” said Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt. “In Strathmore-Brooks alone we raised 50 per cent of the total that the entire PC Party of Alberta raised across the entire province. I was mostly surprised that the NDP couldn’t raise more money. You’d think they just won an election, their supporters would be pretty enthusiastic.”
On June 22, Bill 1: An Act to Renew Democracy was passed in the legislature to ban, retroactively to June 15, any corporate or union donations to political campaigns. Known as a grassroots campaign, the Wildrose Party faced minimal roadblocks in their fundraising effort as a result of the changes, Fildbrandt said. He added the same wasn’t true for the PC Party that previously relied on corporate’s deep pockets. Under the new legislature, individuals are now limited to maximum contributions of $15,000 a year.
In addition to financial backing throughout Alberta, the party also experienced local support. Former Strathmore-Brooks Constituency Association Chief Financial Officer Ronda Klemmensen was chosen as president of the Constituency Association, which now has a board of 21 members and two pending. The board size, which cannot exceed 30 members, is an indication of the party’s efforts stretching over the past 10 months after numbers fell to 4 from roughly 10.
“It never crossed my mind, but we had quite the dissolution of the board when the floor crossing happened and the president resigned,” said Klemmensen. “A lot of the members just lost faith in the work they were doing. There were a few of us who hung in there. This is the most diverse board that we’ve had, and the largest board that Strathmore-Brooks has had.”
The grandmother of almost 10, one to be born in December, moved to Strathmore 11-and-a-half years ago and got involved with the party to prove that one voice does make a difference. Her accounting background – currently worked as the accountant for Namaka Farms – made her the ideal candidate for the chief financial officer position three years ago. Klemmensen was one of the original members that rebuilt the board, after the occurrence of the floor crossing that included then-MLA Jason Hale.
According to Klemmensen the larger numbers of board members allow the association to make decisions effectively; she stated the absence of a few members during a meeting proves more difficult in the decision-making process when the group is small to begin with.
“We look at where we are today, and it was really something to look back and think about how far we’ve come,” said Fildebrandt. “After we were betrayed we had a very small board, just a few people who stuck around. And we rebuilt, in the lead up to and during the campaign, and now I believe we’re quite possibly the strongest constituency association in the province.”
Having depleted their funds in the previous election, fundraising will be the association’s primary focus. Money raised will aid in financing Fildebrandt’s meet-and-greets, room rentals, and serving refreshments.
As membership continues to climb, latest numbers showed that the Strathmore-Brooks constituency is currently made up of 510 Wildrose Party members.
While members are hopeful for greater successes in the future, for now the association will focus their efforts locally and ensure Fildebrandt’s ongoing presence in the constituency.