By
September 28, 2021
-Western Standard
Joel Mullan is out as vice president of policy for the UCP, a week after penning a letter in the Western Standard calling for a leadership review of Premier Jason Kenney.
A special board of directors meeting of the UCP was held Tuesday morning and voted to oust Mullan from his position.
Mullan told the Western Standard after the meeting he couldn’t discuss how the group of 16 directors voted because he was still bound by teams of confidentiality.
“They were upset that I had spoken out. Unfortunately, I was not surprised by what they did,” Mullan said.
“The board has spent a great deal of effort to protect the leader, not to protect the party.”
Mullan said he is still weighing his options on his next step and continues to shake his head at some of the decisions Kenney has made leading Alberta into a COVID-19 crisis.
“They are sailing around like a ship without a commander. They have no course of action,” said Mullan.
“I do not regret my actions and am happy to be judged for my conduct by the UCP’s grassroots members. Jason Kenney’s leadership continues to be a shambles that can best be described as a drunk driver weaving back and forth across the road with little clear purpose or goal.
“I also fear that should Kenney remain in office too long — and then fails a leadership review — his successor may not have sufficient time to right the ship before we face off against the NDP in the next provincial election. “
In response to UCP caucus unrest and growing dissension at the constituency association level, the UCP brought forward a leadership review from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the spring.
Albertans next go to the polls in 2023.
You can read an opinion piece Mullan wrote after being fired here.
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