A small group of impassioned supporters of Councillor Marni Fedeyko gathered in the shadow of the Chicken Lady statue in downtown Cochrane Wednesday to show their support, register their disapproval of the way she’s being treated by the rest of council, and give her a hug.
The Chicken Lady (aka The Legacy Statue) made for an appropriate back drop, commemorating as it does the important role women played in the development of the Cochrane area. It has 40 names of area pioneer women inscribed at its base.
Former Cochrane mayor Judy Stewart said she was moved to organize the rally because she was tired of seeing how Fedeyko was being disrespected by the rest of Town Council.
She said Council’s recent censure of Fedeyko for breaching code of conduct guidelines was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” for her.
“I’m tired of how they treated her and I don’t respect them anymore. I want (Council) to not have the benefit of thinking the public doesn’t care,” Stewart said.
She said the rally was designed to give Fedeyko “a big hug and say thank you for bringing forth accountability on things like the budget approval process.”
Stewart called the way Fedeyko has been treated by Council “abominable.”
She said the job of a councillor was to represent people, which sometimes means taking on tough subjects in a way that might make others uncomfortable.
“It doesn’t mean that you always have to be sweet and kind – sometimes you have to be abrupt and short to get your point across as a politician,” Stewart said.
The retired lawyer said the process that was followed to arrive at the censure of Fedeyko was completely contrary to the principles of natural justice, and that she’s never heard Fedeyko be disrespectful.
“It was nonsense,” she said.
“It’s not fair to treat a colleague this way. When you’re on council you’re a team – you don’t have to like each other, but you have to respect one another,” she said.
Fedeyko was appreciative of the crowd Wednesday.
“I can’t say enough for their support,” she said. “It’s been a rough day, so . . . but you know what, I’m strong, and I’ll figure it out as we go.”
Fedeyko said her recent censure by Council, which involved accusations of inappropriate behaviour, was more than political.
“It hurts my heart because that’s not the kind of person I am,” she said.
It was an emotional outpouring of support. Speakers punctuated their comments with a hug for the councillor, urging her to continue on, and moving her to tears on more than one occasion.
Ex-husband Mike Fedeyko drew a chuckle from the crowd as he prefaced his comments with “I’ve known her kids, well, since they were born.” He urged her to keep doing what she was doing – holding council to account.
“Something’s wrong at the RancheHouse. I’ve known Marni for twenty some years and know what an ethical and moral person she is,” he said.
“The people that are calling ‘bully’ are being the bullies,” he said.
He said that there have been days when she’s wanted to quit when she feels personally attacked, but gatherings like this help her to stay on.
“She still has that inner drive to keep going,” he said.
