Constituency stands by beleaguered Alberta politician, decries ‘mud-slinging’
CALGARY — A constituency association in southern Alberta is standing behind the area’s embattled member of the legislature who has resigned from his party’s caucus following a bevy of negative headlines.
Derek Fildebrandt, whose political brand had cast him as a champion for the taxpayer, announced his departure late Tuesday after it was revealed he rented his taxpayer-funded apartment through Airbnb and double-billed the government for some meals.
It then came to light through a CBC report that Fildebrandt was accused in a 2016 hit-and-run that damaged a parked van. Court documents confirm he was charged with failing to report an accident and the trial continues next month.
He apologized for what he called honest mistakes and said he did not want the media controversy to distract from the work of the nascent United Conservative Party, which was created recently through the merger of Alberta’s right-of-centre Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties.