PERTH — Lanark Landowner Association President Bill Duncan is facing a mutiny from some of his own members.

In an invitation-only meeting, of which Duncan was not invited, some landowner association members decided to vote for new leadership in the local association. They couldn’t wait until the upcoming election to be held before Christmas. The meeting involved the umbrella group, the Ontario Landowners Association, and its interim president Jack MacLaren, of Carleton County, who took part in the vote to expel Duncan. Some people renewed their memberships the night of the meeting in order to vote or signed up as members even though they live in other counties. Said Duncan: "They couldn’t find enough LLA members to pull this off."

The latest event is tearing apart the Lanark Landowners, which began the rural revolution four years ago and saw county groups formed across the province. The Lanark association, which had about 750 memberships (which the LLA habitually translated to meaning two people per membership or 1,500 members), has dwindled to 200 to 500 memberships, Duncan said. But he doesn’t know for sure because he said he had never been given the records. He started the association’s own website at lanarklandownersassociation.com.

OLA president Jack MacLaren insisted that Duncan, a crop farmer and owner of a farm machinery repair and manufacturing shop, was not a team player and had to go. Duncan calls the recent vote an "insurrection" and refuses to step down, saying landowner members will decide their president in the upcoming election.

Chicken farmer Larry Robinson was at the one-sided October meeting in which the vote was 21 to 0, with one abstention to oust Duncan. Robinson said that he voted against Duncan because when you don’t have support of the group it’s time to go. But Robinson noted Duncan had done nothing wrong. "The meeting was irrational and emotional," said Robinson. "It was ridiculous."

The issue comes down to a conflict of personalities, he said, noting that some people didn’t like it when Duncan doesn’t agree with the status quo. In defence of Duncan, Robinson added: "If we don’t have the right to voice our opinion, then why is our group here?"

Duncan says he is in hot water for arguing that the landowner groups are cozying up to the Conservative Party but should remain politically neutral, as outlined in the landowners’ founding declaration. When former LLA president Randy Hillier was elected Oct. 10 as a Conservative MPP, Duncan removed Hillier from the position of LLA governor to avoid a conflict of interest.

"We have to deal with the government in power," Duncan argued. The election for LLA president is Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. at the Pakenham United Church, Duncan said.