Alberta Liberal president resigns

The president of the Alberta Liberals has quit, just a week after reaching out to other "progressive" parties to unite to defeat the ruling Alberta Progressive Conservatives.

Tony Sansotta's resignation is effective immediately, said Liberal Leader David Swann on Thursday.

In his resignation letter, Sansotta said he's leaving because "the Alberta Liberal Party needs a different kind of president to work with the leader."

Sansotta will continue to volunteer for the party in fundraising and election preparation, said Swann.

Last week, the Liberals took out a half-page ad in Calgary and Edmonton newspapers calling on Alberta's other parties to band together to end the Tories' 39-year hold on power.

Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason scoffed at the proposal as an "act of desperation."

Meeting with other parties

Swann said Thursday that meetings will proceed with members of the Alberta Party, the NDP, former supporters of the Alberta Green Party, and organizers from Reboot Alberta, a citizen's group.

It's obvious Sansotta had trouble moving in that direction, said Swann.

"He's a fairlytraditional politics guy that wants to mix it up andfight the good fight for the Liberal party and liberal values and I respect that. At the same time, we think ...the majority of us that passed the resolution that we need to move to doing things differently."

In April, Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor left the Liberals to sit as an Independent, saying he had lost faith in Swann and a directionless party.

The party's vice-president of communications, Jody MacPherson, will act as interim president until a new one can be elected later this year.

The Alberta Tories hold 68 seats in the legislature, while the Liberals make up the Official Opposition with eight.