Some call it a political dynasty in the making. Others say it looks like a case of political nepotism.

The nomination of Mark Strahl, who has been working as MP Randy Kamp’s assistant, to succeed his popular father, Chuck, as the Conservative MP in Chilliwack even has longtime party stalwarts ticked off — and calling for a do-over.

"It's not too late to do this again and do it properly this time," Alexander Moens, a Conservative Party member and political-science professor at Simon Fraser University, told me Thursday.

"What we have now looks terrible."

But looks may not be important to the Conservatives in a safe seat like Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon. Despite the grumbling and controversy, Mark Strahl is still a slam-dunk to win the riding his father held for 18 years.

It's just how he got into that cushy catbird seat that has people angry.

The senior Strahl announced he was retiring from politics on March 12. The party called a fast-tracked nomination contest two days later — the same day Mark Strahl announced his bid to succeed his father.

Just one week later, Mark Strahl won the nomination against a single opponent.

But now rivals say the nomination race was so short — and the party's eligibility rules, like securing a criminal record check, were so strict — there was no time for anyone else to mount a challenge.

Local city councillor Casey Langbroeck said he wanted to run, but the time-frame was simply too crunched. For his part, Mark Strahl insists he didn't have any advance notice about his father's retirement.

It's all an embarrassment to veteran party members like Moens.

"I think it was very undemocratic," said Moens. "High public office should not be like a family business, where it's passed on from father to son."

Moens said the Chilliwack controversy is compounded by similar nomination uproars in other Conservative races in B.C. A party insider won a shortened nomination process to replace the outgoing Stockwell Day in Okanagan-Coquihalla, another safe Tory seat.

"Normally, a nomination period should be 40 days," Moens said. "It allows all qualified candidates to come forward, and creates excitement and interest in the party. What we have now is a gap in the democratic process that our party should address immediately."

He has a solution for the controversy in Chilliwack: start again.

"Time is tight, but I think they should do it over, so everyone who wants to run can run in a fair contest."

Not surprisingly, Mark Strahl has expressed no interest in that. The torch has been passed from father to son. And his victory is already in the bag.

msmyth@theprovince.com