A disqualified trustee has thrown her hat into the ring for the byelection to replace the seat she was removed from in December. “The 348 people who have signed a petition in the west end supporting me is the reason that I did it,” said Jeannine Tucker, the former Foothills School Division trustee for the Longview-Black Diamond-Turner Valley area. There will be a race in the Ward 1 byelection on Oct. 22. John “Jack” Molyneux, a well-known former teacher at Red Deer Lake School, also submitted his nomination papers at the division office on Monday. The byelection is a result of Tucker’s disqualification by a unanimous vote among trustees in December for her having a pecuniary conflict of interest due to her operating the canteen at Oilfields High School. Her disqualification was less than two months after being elected to her second term. Tucker ran the canteen during her first term as trustee from 2014-17. Tucker feels she is eligible to be a trustee now that she no longer operates the canteen. Foothills School Division received a legal opinion that a disqualified trustee cannot run for two municipal elections after being removed from office. “My lawyer is working hard in the opposite direction,” Tucker said. She said she believes she is eligible to run and serve as a trustee. Her appeal to reverse the disqualification was dismissed by a Judge Willie deWit in July. A petition supporting Tucker was presented to trustees by email on Monday. Molyneux, who lives in Turner Valley, opted to run in order to get representation back in the area again. “I live in this division, I have always been an advocate for kids,” Molyneux said. “I just think these guys [students and Ward 1 residents] need a voice and I didn’t see anything happening. “Anybody without a voice at the board level is not getting a chance to hear what the issues are and get their issues looked after. “That’s basically why I stepped up.” As for the controversy concerning Tucker and her eligibility to be a trustee, Molyneux is taking a que sera, sera like attitude. “I know there are some concerns about what happened to the last trustee but I have no knowledge about what happened there at all,” he said. “I am kind of staying away from that.” Jamie Wilkie, who lives in Ward 1, started the petition in favour of Tucker. “I understand there was ruled to be an issue with the canteen she had,” Wilkie said. “But it was very disappointing to me that it was after the fact.” He said the fact Tucker operated the canteen was discussed during the 2017 municipal election among residents. “Most folks seemed to take the view it was good, she’s interacting with the kids on a regular basis,” Wilkie said. “As long as she is not negotiating on behalf of her own contract, I personally didn’t see an issue.” He stressed Tucker has since stopped running the canteen. Wilkie said he is concerned the voters weren’t heard last October. “When folks vote I think 70 per cent in her favour, to see that get overturned by an administrative decision, it’s frustrating. It’s like the voice isn’t being heard.” He admitted it was a legal opinion that resulted in a dismissal. “The concern to me is they will eliminate her again if she gets elected,” Wilkie said. “I recognize they [trustees] are in a tough spot I just hope the way the election went they can explore all options to allow her to run and represent the ward.” Drew Chipman, division assistant superintendent, corporate services, said Tucker is eligible to run. However, he said if elected, her eligibility to serve as a trustee may be questioned. The four current trustees on the division board are Ward 2, Bill Young; Ward 3, Theresa Letendre; Ward 4, Larry Albrecht and Sharon Nichols; and Ward 5, Jennifer Kristiansen. The trustees have shared Tucker’s duties since the disqualification. [email protected]
