Former Cochrane mayor Judy Stewart is tired of what she says are tasteless political shenanigans against Town Councillor Marni Fedeyko.
She's asking residents to stand behind the town councillor at a rally today (Oct. 23) from 5 to 6 p.m. by the "Chicken Lady" in the heart of Historic Cochrane (1st St. W.).
"This will be a very calm and peaceful rally with no specific outcome other than raising public awareness that we've had enough," she says in her event posting.
She says she no longer has faith in any member of council except Fedeyko.
"There are a lot of people out there who support Councillor Fedeyko, not just for her work on council, but in all her volunteer activities We're all kind of sick of hearing about this because it doesn't reflect the kind of person we know, the kind of person we work with regularly. It's hurtful."
The plight of Fedeyko can't be viewed in isolation. There are at least eight councillors in a similar situation across the province. Some are fighting, some have resigned out of frustration, and at least one is suing her municipality, mayor and CAO for over $300,000.
Stewart says the code of conduct used when she was on town council did not contain the draconian language of today that has been encouraged by the provincial government.
"They've enabled these kangaroo courts, where municipal councillors are not qualified to do a fair assessment of whether or not there has been a breach of conduct."
"The interpretation of the terminology has been less than humane," says Stewart.
She says the accusation of Fedeyko bullying or harassing an employee has been left open to hearsay and subjectivity.
"If somebody did proper research and finding of harassment, it would be completely different on a legal scale," says Stewart, a retired lawyer. "So, I call them kangaroo courts. They're not just happening in Cochrane: they're happening throughout Alberta."
She says the application of the code of conduct has become punitive and insulting to residents who have elected officials to carry out the desires of their citizens.
"The citizens aren't doing the judging here. Citizens aren't the ones who are getting to do investigations. We're just here at the end of the day, reflecting on the way certain of our councillors are being treated, and it's terrible."
"I don't trust them. I don't like them, and I don't respect any of them other than Marni. If she's so brave as to run again, she'll get my vote, and a lot of people feel this way. A lot of people who I talk to and interact with are just shaking their heads, asking what's next. What is the next thing they can do to damage her reputation and make her feel less than whole? It's just not right."
Stewart says hearing of Fedeyko's treatment brought back bad memories of having a similarly unpleasant experience while serving on Cochrane town council.
"The same sort of thing happened to me, where I was isolated and treated as less than whole," says Stewart.