Former News reporter returns to city with new book about past premier
By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on July 18, 2024.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com Former Medicine Hat News reporter Jeremy Appel is coming back to where so much of his career began, to promote his book detailing the legacy of former premier Jason Kenney. Appel hasn’t been back in the city since 2021, but the area does hold significance, as he notes that this is where he was when so many of the major political events that inspired him to look to be an author. “I always knew I wanted to write a book,” said Appel. “I wanted to be a journalist, but also an author. And I told myself, in 2022, it was the year I would get myself familiar with the publishing industry. I didn’t know what I wanted to write about, and that’s when Kenney had his political downfall.” His book is titled ‘Kenneyism, Jason Kenney’s Pursuit of Power.’ Appel said he was surprised that Kenney had been removed, as he hadn’t seen a world where they replaced him so quickly, let alone where he would be replaced by current premier Danielle Smith. He had then written an opinion piece for what’s now known as the Maple’s Opinion section, detailing that no matter what came after, he believed the change to be a positive thing. “I was like, there are so many examples throughout his career from the beginning,” said Appel, citing some of Kenney’s early advocacy work which included supporting a referendum that would overturn domestic partnership law in San Francisco, or working to get a Woman’s Law Students Association kicked off his university campus due to their support of abortion. Appel believes that Kenney played an, “oversized role in shaping political debate in Canada and Alberta,” as well as shifting said debate further right. He continued on to say that he thinks that there is something to be learned from Kenney’s legacy that can be applied to the current political climate. All of these points, as well as further discussion on parts of Kenney’s career and potentially readings from the books, will take place at the Medicine Hat Public Library on July 23, beginning at 6 pm. “I’ll be selling books at a discounted price, signing them and just talking to people,” said Appel. “I hope to see a lot of people there, both who I know from my time there and hopefully some people I’ve never met before who are interested in the topic.” 12-11
