In late November, Elections Alberta issued a petition to recall Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf.
Nearly three weeks later, some residents say nothing is happening.
“It’s kind of a debacle, kind of shenanigans, kind of a sham, it’s kind of a scam,” said Barb Phillips, mother of former Lethbridge-West NDP MLA Shannon Phillips.
“The petitioner, Ryan Tanner, has already used up (19) days of the 90-day period in which you can collect signatures for the petition.”
Phillips says she had been invited to a meeting of canvassers, but when she arrived, only one other person turned up. After she failed to get any information, Phillips walked away.
The other person in attendance was Lucretia Apperloo.
“We have until February 23rd to collect over 13,000 signatures. As far as I know, not one signature has been collected,” said Apperloo.
She says she did sign the paperwork, but she still hasn’t received her canvassing kit.
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“A few of us have received a couple of email responses from (the organizer), but those seem to have died off.”
Now, Apperloo is concerned the petition wasn’t executed in good faith.
“Personally, I think there’s some political game going on here. I don’t think it’s incompetency.”
Both Phillips and Apperloo say they have contacted Elections Alberta with their concerns.
Elections Alberta tells Global News it cannot comment on any potential reviews.
“Elections Alberta is legislatively prohibited from commenting on complaints, allegations, or investigations we may, or may not, be reviewing or conducting, or those we may have conducted in the past.”
Elections Alberta does say if there are any adverse findings in any potential review, it will be posted to their website.
Neudorf, on the other hand, denies that any ‘political game’ is going on, at least with his involvement.
“I have no relationship to Ryan Tanner, nor am I involved in my own recall campaign.”
He tells Global News that he respects the democratic process and holding elected officials accountable. However, he says recall petitions are meant for serious misconduct, not policy disagreement.
“I have consistently worked to represent Lethbridge-East with integrity, listening to diverse perspectives and making decisions in the best interest of our community and province. Weaponizing recall for ideological purposes undermines stability and constructive governance.”
Global News reached out to the recall petition organizer, but did not receive a response.
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