A look at elected New Democrat Deborah Drever’s rough launch into politics
Posted May 22, 2015 06:29:19 PM.
Last Updated May 22, 2015 09:20:14 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
EDMONTON – Rookie Deborah Drever has had a rocky ride in politics since she was first elected as a New Democrat in Alberta earlier this month.
May 5: Drever, a 26-year-old sociology student at Mount Royal University, wins a seat in Calgary Bow by 263 votes.
May 6: Facebook pictures surface of Drever when she was 19 mugging with a pot-leaf T-shirt; another shows a middle finger in front of a Canadian flag. Drever says she was just being silly with the T-shirt and the hand on the flag was not hers.
May 8: Online petitions ask for Drever to be removed. They say some of her Facebook photos show that she is unfit for office.
May 15: Another photo circulates on social media of Drever pretending to be assaulted with a bottle for a garage band cover photo.
May 20: Incoming premier Rachel Notley says she has met with Drever and told her the images were “highly inappropriate.” Notley says she has accepted Drever’s apology and tasked her with developing a plan to heighten awareness of violence against women.
May 21: Drever tells The Canadian Press she is sorry for the band photo taken three years ago and that it was a youthful mistake that she regrets.
May 22: A photo posted on Drever’s Instagram account circulates on Twitter. It shows Tory Premier Jim Prentice and a cabinet minister with doodled speech bubbles added to their pictures that suggest the two men are gay. Notley suspends Drever from caucus but says she may review her status within a year. Drever is to sit as an Independent.
