“Team Rustad” won the first annual meeting of BC Conservatives since he entered the state’s mainstream political scene in last year’s election and became an official opposition.
Saturday’s meeting came amid a split within the party that leader John Rastad portrayed as strength rather than weaknesses, in a speech to around 800 representatives.
“So I make sure our MLAs can get up and speak, even if that’s what I oppose, but freedom of speech must be at the heart of what we do as a democracy.”
He later told reporters that everyone “sings kunbaya and you’re all singing the same thing, you’re not a real party,” and that they need to be able to see the difference “as the strength of who we are as parties.”
The leader firmly placed the stamps on the party by running candidates for executive positions under the name “Team Rustad.”
Each of his candidates won.
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Among them was President Aisha Estay, who thwarted the challenges of four rivals, including a group of candidates who failed in the fall local elections.
Rustad’s priority candidates also won as a vice president, secretary, treasurer and a five-person board.
Rastad told representatives because of his strong belief in democracy that his party has free votes in parliament.
It was a complete home in the meeting room, with some representatives having to stand behind. Just two years ago, when Rastad joined the conservatives, there were only 800 members in the party, he said.
In addition to supporting Rastad’s executive slate, members also voted in favor of Rastad’s move to amend the party’s constitution.
“This is a grassroots party. It’s always a grassroots party and I hope it will always remain a grassroots party,” Rastad told reporters.
“So it’s important to have a constitution that reflects that and ensures that people are engaged at all levels of our party.”
The amended constitution included measures that were likely to stabilize party leaders by reducing mandatory reviews. Under the old constitution, leadership reviews were conducted every two years, but under the new rules, reviews are conducted only after each local election.
Rastad will face his first leadership review this fall.
