As most of you know, Team Jodie received some upsetting news on Saturday, March 5th.

The PCSC (Provincial Candidate Selection Committee) disqualified Mrs. Gateman's candidacy, which is heartbreaking and disparaging to Mrs. Gateman's character.

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They feel a couple of long ago social media posts do not reflect the values of the UCP Party and that she could possibly damage the reputation of the UCP party, its members or both.

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Mrs. Gateman would be a great asset to the party, its members and Albertans as a whole. People appreciate her conservative values when she sits on government boards, round tables, and committees. She has never been labelled as a reputational risk.

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The values of the UCP should not be perceived as exclusionary or against free speech; our team has received contact from many Albertans that feel her disqualification is wrong and will actually harm the UCP.

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Team Jodie filed an appeal on Monday morning at 11am.  The appeal was accepted to be heard, we are waiting on confirmation of a date.

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However in the mean time, the leader of the Party decided to slander Mrs.Gateman’s good name in a public press conference. He stated that she has a long standing history of posting extreme and hateful posts against Muslims.

 

Mrs. Gateman’s response is below.

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"I do not have an extensive track record of hateful posts. The post they are using to disqualify me is a repost from over six years ago. 

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Social media posts were discussed when I met with the nomination committee. I explained why I reposted this item and what I was trying to say with it, which is being misconstrued entirely by how it is now being presented to the public. I was not the author of that item.

The repost was not my point of view and it was a determining point of fact that this is the type of rhetoric that is spread when we don’t talk about things correctly.

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Would I have worded my comment differently? Yes, in hindsight. Was it the best example to use? No. Do I think it takes me to the level of disqualification? Absolutely not!

I am not an extremist, hateful person by any stretch of the imagination. Anyone who has worked with me,  sat on a board with me or worked on a committee with me, would be able to back that statement up."