Police called over campaign donations - Penticton Herald - Dec 30/09

Police called over campaign donations

By Susan McIver special to the Penticton Herald December 30, 2009

Questions about campaign finances of the Summerland mayor and councillors led a group of concerned residents to request a police investigation.

Earlier this month, 15 Summerland residents formally requested that the RCMP conduct an investigation into the controversy over financial disclosure statements from the 2008 municipal election.

The request came on the heels of widespread media coverage of alleged wrongdoings.

At issue are numerous anonymous advertisements that appeared in local newspapers during the 2008 campaign in support of the current councillors and mayor.

In the official complaint, the residents say they are particularly concerned about these anonymous donations in excess of $50, contrary to Section 87 of the Local Government Act.

All council members stated in their campaign financing disclosure statements that they took donations from unnamed individuals, groups or corporations for newspaper ads that exceeded the legal threshold. They listed these anonymous contributions as "in-kind" when, in fact, they were cash transactions.

For the newspaper ads to be considered "in-kind" donations, they would have had to be provided at no cost by the newspapers‘ owners - in which case they would not be anonymous.

Some council members publicly said they exercised due diligence by seeking advice from the chief electoral officer before completing their disclosure statements.

Chief electoral officers provide information to candidates, including the candidate‘s guide to local elections, but they are not responsible for detailed interpretations of regulations or the accuracy of financial statements.

The candidate‘s guide states that disclosure rules exist to provide information about who is financially supporting each candidate and how much candidates spend on their campaigns.

The Summerland residents are also concerned about the two groups, perhaps more, that promoted candidates and viewpoints in the 2008 municipal elections and spent more than $500 doing so.

Individuals or groups spending more than $500 are legally required to register with the local chief elector officer.

The day after a front page opinion piece appeared in the Vancouver Sun with the headline Illegal Donations Mean Summerland has no legitimate Council, area resident Mark Ziebarth said he alone was behind the Citizens for Smart Governance.

Smart Governance ran advertisements endorsing the current mayor and councillors in local newspapers.

A Penticton businessman, Ziebarth said because he did not collect funds from other people, he did not qualify as a campaign organizer.

The provincial guide for campaign organizers says any person or group becomes a campaign organizer when they engage in an election campaign that augments or operates in place of a candidate‘s campaign.

In an interview with CBC Radio, Ziebarth said that, as an American, spending $2,000 on endorsement ads was the only way he could participate and influence the election‘s outcome.

When asked if he would do it again, Ziebarth replied, "I‘d do it with double barrels - twice as many ads, twice as much fun."

Unlike the Summerland candidates, at least two candidates facing a similar situation in the West Vancouver municipal election publicly dissociated themselves from anonymous ads.

http://www.pentictonherald.ca/stories.php?i=233446&a=41745&d=12445&k=145d85b0ccb9f651d4909c4193d18b2e

"Waiting for the truth" - Summerland Review editorial

"Waiting for the truth" - Summerland Review editorial

December 17, 2009

A group of 15 Summerlanders has asked the RCMP to investigate allegations of wrongdoings in the lead-up to last year’s municipal election.

The investigation comes after a number of anonymous third-party ads were run in the Summerland Review and other area newspapers. Some of the ads promoted a slate of candidates, one endorsed mayoral candidate Janice Perrino only and several urged voters reject anti-growth platforms.

The result of the election was a decisive win for Janice Perrino and each of the candidates listed in the seven-name slate.

Since the news stories ran, there has been much speculation about who may be involved, the motivations behind the advertisements and the possibility of groups of conspirators, lurking in the background but shaping the outcome of the election.

Others are questioning the motives of those who have now raised their concerns over the ads.

At this point, it is important to remember that the story is still unfolding.

While an investigation has been requested, it has not yet been conducted.

It will likely take months before a proper investigation can be completed.

Right now, it is much too early to make any conclusions. It is also unfair to point fingers until the investigation has run its course.

We live in a society in which the presumption of innocence is a fundamental pillar of our justice system.

None of us would want to be judged by those who do not know the whole story.

The candidates in the last election, those who placed advertisements, the elections officer and others involved deserve the same level of respect.

We ask that everyone, on all sides of this story, would keep an open mind until the facts are known.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/summerlandreview/opinion/79467867.html

"Lawyer refutes allegations against Summerland council"- Capital News Dec 15/09

"Lawyer refutes allegations against Summerland council"

By John Arendt (see the online version of the Capital News)


While a group of 15 Summerland residents have petitioned RCMP to investigate possible wrongdoings in the last municipal election, a prominent local government lawyer contends council members did not contravene any election laws.

Don Lidstone, who has spent more than 30 years working with local governments, said the allegations that the council is illegitimate are inaccurate and legally unsubstantiated.

The allegations came after questions were raised about a series of anonymous advertisements in the Summerland Review and other area media. Later, Mark Ziebarth took responsibility for those ads which bore the name Citizens for Smart Governance.

Candidates are not allowed to accept anonymous donations of more than $50 under the Local Government Act. However, Lidstone does not believe council members could be disqualified.

“Even if it could be proved that council members contravened the campaign finance provisions of the Local Government Act — and I do not think they contravened the act — in my opinion, the council members would be able to establish that they exercised due diligence, which is a complete answer and defence under the statute,” he said.

Under the Local Government Act, there are two grounds for disqualification that relate to campaign finance disclosure statements. A member may be disqualified for failing to file a disclosure statement within the specified time frame or for filing a false or incomplete statement. If a council member exercised due diligence to ensure the requirements were met, they would not be disqualified, Lidstone said.

He added that each of the council members filed their statements within the required time frame and that each would be able to show they exercised due diligence as they all disclosed the value of anonymous contributions.

“The courts will not lightly disqualify an elected official, especially where, as here, the official can show they exercised good faith and reasonable judgment,” Lidstone said.

While legislation prevents candidates from receiving anonymous contributions valued at more than $50, Lidstone said the council members cannot be disqualified for two reasons. He said the value of the ads is deemed to be nil under section 89(2) of the Local Government Act. Even if the ads are determined to have a value, Lidstone said the act provides that a council member is not guilty if they exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Ziebarth placed the ads as a volunteer as defined in the act and received no compensation for doing so. As a result, Lidstone said there is no obligation on council members to turn over the value of the contributions.

Last week, Frank Martens, representing a group of 15 Summerland residents, brought a complaint to the Penticton RCMP, asking them to investigate possible wrongdoings.

He said anonymous advertisements and the amounts of anonymous donations claimed by mayoral and councillor candidates violated election legislation.

“We’ve pretty much looked at all the regulations,” Martens said. “You can’t go off on your own and place ads for candidates.”

The investigation process could take up to four months, Martens said. Once it is completed, he hopes the election legislation is changed to become a little clearer.

Peter Waterman, who lost his bid to become Summerland’s mayor in last year’s election, assisted Martens with the complaint.

“There’s a reasonable case to proceed,” he said. “The contraventions of the election act in this case are stronger than in Central Saanich.”

In Central Saanich, an RCMP investigation recommended 19 charges be laid. But the attorney-general’s criminal justice branch did not proceed, saying there was not a substantial likelihood of conviction and it was not in the public interest.

Martens does not hold out much hope that anything will happen beyond the investigation.

“There’s not going to be too much done, in my opinion,” he said.

If the 15 residents wish to take council to court following the investigation, he said the cost of the legal process would be at least $20,000.

No matter what the outcome, Waterman said he is disturbed by the effects of the anonymous ads.

“It’s certainly not a good idea for a council to be receiving this negative publicity,” he said.

While Martens and Waterman believe there were wrongdoings on the part of council members over their disclosures, municipal clerk Gillian Matthews, who was the elections officer last year, disagreed.

“No council member has done anything that would result in their disqualification with respect to the filing of their campaign financing disclosure,” she said in a recent news release.

She explained that the two reasons for disqualification are failure to file the required disclosure and filing a false disclosure.

All disclosures were filed on time, she said. She added that a person is not disqualified if he or she exercised due diligence to ensure that the requirements of the legislation were met.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/79358742.html?c=y&curSection=/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews&curTitle=BC%20News

(Dec 15/09 online version of the Capital News)

comments by Don DeGagne, Summerland CAO

It is not my intention to become embroiled in a political debate as that is not my role. However, as the Chief Administrative Officer of the District of Summerland, when the media and others are suggesting that the political leadership of this community is not legitimate, I feel I need to speak up. While I am not in a position to defend the individual actions of the council members, I feel it is my role to bring forth information to the general public in defense of the integrity of the corporation and the reputation of the community.

Accordingly, last week I worked with the Corporate Officer to clarify the situation through a media release, based on the facts at our disposal. That media release clarified the law with respect to potential disqualification of council members as it relates to disclosure of election expenses. It concluded that based on the information provided, there was no basis for disqualification and therefore, the Council was a valid duly elected governing body.

Subsequent to that I was contacted by Don Lidstone, QC, a prominent municipal lawyer who has worked to promote and defend local government in Canada for over 30 years. He indicated to me that he was very interested in the allegations that Council was not legitimate and wished to learn more about the situation. After providing Mr. Lidstone with the information at hand, he indicated it was unlikely a case for disqualification could be established and he was very concerned that Summerland's good name could be tarnished by unsubstantiated allegations in the media. He then indicated that he would further consider the matter and if appropriate, he would write a letter of opinion to the media outlets involved in an attempt clarify the status of the Summerland Council. He clarified that he would be doing so as a concerned citizen and there would be no cost to the municipality.

I have made copies of Mr. Lidstone's letter to the media and the public. I will not get into the legal details but, Mr. Lidstone's conclusion is clear and I quote;

"In my opinion, the allegations are inaccurate and are legally unsubstantiated. Even if it

could be proved that Council members contravened the campaign finance provisions of

the Local Government Act ("LGA"), and I do not think they contravened the Act, in my

opinion the Council members would be able to establish that they exercised due

diligence, which is a complete answer and defence under the statute."

This opinion by Mr. Lidstone makes it very clear that this Council is a legitimate governing body for the District of Summerland and I think it is very important for the public to know that. That is why I bring this to your attention.

Don H. DeGagne, CAO

posted on District of Summerland website - www.summerland.ca

http://www.summerland.ca/newsitempopup.aspx?ID=352

"Taming wild municipal campaigns" - Paul Willcocks Dec 12, 2009

As Paul Willcocks notes in his column "Taming wild muncipal elections" there is a need for new election rules for local government elections. And a need for spending limits.

"Inquiry to shed light on election" editorial by James Miller - Okanagan Sunday, Dec 13, 2009

"Citizens ask RCMP to investigate Summerland election donations" - Vancouver Sun Dec 11, 2009

Citizens ask RCMP to investigate Summerland election donations

BY DAPHNE BRAMHAM, VANCOUVER SUNDECEMBER 11, 2009

Fifteen citizens have asked the RCMP to investigate whether the Summerland mayor and city councillors breached the Local Government Act by accepting anonymous donations of newspaper advertising, pamphlets and cards during the 2008 election.

Under the act, it is illegal to both give and receive anonymous contributions valued at more than $50.

The penalty for candidates is disqualification from holding office and from running again until after the next general election. The penalty for donors is disqualification from participating until after the next general election.

Everyone on Summerland council, including Mayor Janice Perrino, claimed at least one anonymous donation worth more than $50 in financial disclosures filed last March. If the complaints are upheld in court, a new election could be ordered.

In a thick packet delivered Thursday, the citizens also asked RCMP to investigate who was behind newspaper ads that -- among other things --accused slow-growth advocates of being anti-family.

They noted that no groups or individuals registered as either elector organizers or campaign organizations, as the act requires, and none filed the required financial disclosures.

Frank Martens is one of the 15 citizens. He called the whole election "a farce" with no attempt by the council members to disclose who was funding their campaign, even though they all seemed to know how much the ads, pamphlets and cards were worth.

But Martens said, "I don't expect anything to happen. Look what happened in Central Saanich."

He might well have added Langley and West Vancouver. In all three, individuals have complained to police because strangely, the act leaves it up to citizens to enforce the election rules.

RCMP investigations in Langley and Central Saanich concluded. In Central Saanich, RCMP recommended 19 charges be laid. But the attorney-general's criminal justice branch decided against it, saying there was not a substantial likelihood of conviction and it was not in the public interest.

No charges were recommended in Langley, where among other things, two B.C. cabinet ministers endorsed a slate of candidates.

Insp. Lesley Bain wrote the complainant in June saying: "The RCMP has been assured that Crown counsel and the ministry of community and rural development are aware of the difficulties that have arisen in the 2008 municipal elections and are considering options that will ensure a better awareness and application of the law in the next local election."

Bain also noted that a senior member of the commercial crime section had been asked to prepare a report outlining some of the issues identified with the act during the course of the investigation.

(The B.C. government recently appointed a task force that has until May 30, 2010 to recommend changes aimed at improving the "fairness, accountability, transparency and public participation" in local government elections.)

But it's the West Vancouver complaint that most closely resembles the one in Summerland. West Vancouver Police investigated Low Tax, Low Growth, which ran four ads endorsing a slate of candidates. It never registered as an elector organization or campaign organizer or filed a financial statement. No one knows who was behind it, including Coun. Michael Lewis, who received an endorsement.

Unlike the Summerland candidates, Lewis did not list the anonymous endorsement in his financial disclosure. Instead, he immediately went to the media to dissociate himself from the ad and after the election, he and campaign manager, David Marley went to police.

West Vancouver Police investigated and recommended charges. Again, the Crown prosecutor refused to go ahead. Lewis and Marley have asked Attorney-General Mike de Jong to review the decision.

No one has yet admitted being behind the shadowy group, unlike what happened in Summerland. There, Penticton businessman Mark Ziebarth sent out a letter last week saying he was the only person behind Citizens for Smart Governance, which ran four ads in the Summerland Review and one in the Penticton Herald endorsing Mayor Perrino and the successful council candidates.

"In order to have some fun at the expense of the antediluvian Smart Growth crowd, I named myself Citizens for Smart Governance and published my ads under that banner," Ziebarth said in a letter to the editor published in the Review.

In a subsequent radio interview (http://tiny.cc/VIEID), Ziebarth said that, as an American, spending $2,000 on endorsement ads was the only way he could participate and influence the election's outcome.

Asked why he didn't do it under his own name, Ziebarth replied: "I wanted to see if it would get a rise out of people and apparently it did."

Named Penticton's business leader of the year in 2007, Ziebarth was active in U.S. politics before moving to Canada.

According to AllBusiness.com, Ziebarth spent five years as a fundraiser for the conservative Heritage Foundation before moving on to publish business and political newsletters. His company, Bonegarde Media, publishes training and education material for businesses and is Penticton's fourth largest employer.

Only a few days earlier, the District of Summerland issued a press release saying that "in an effort to be open, honest and transparent" council members disclosed the value of the ads placed by an anonymous party. It went on to say that council members "advise [that] these anonymous ads were placed by a third party without their knowledge, involvement or consent."

Yet two councillors --Gordon Clark and Bruce Hallquist -- wrote on their disclosures that the donors were anonymous "for reasons of privacy."

Martens is probably right that nothing will happen. But he is right that municipal elections have become a farce in this province because there is no proper oversight, no proper enforcement and no regard for a process that's at the root of democracy.

dbramham@vancouversun.com

Subscribe to Daphne Bramham's newsfeed at: http://tinyurl.com/bramhamnewsfeed or look for her stories at http://tinyurl.com/bramhamindex

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Citizens+RCMP+investigate+Summerland+election+donations/2328972/story.html

"Summerland residents make official RCMP complaint on election" - Penticton Herald Dec 11, 2009

"Summerland residents make official RCMP complaint on election"

by Susan McIver - Special to the Penticton Herald

December 11, 2009

A group of Summerland residents formally requested the RCMP conduct an investigation into the controversy facing Summerland mayor and council over financial disclosures from the 2008 municipal elections.
The official complaint to the RCMP was submitted over the signatures of 15 residents.
“None of the signatories were former candidates in the last municipal election or their spouses,” said Frank Martens, who delivered the complaint early Friday morning.
The complaint was accompanied by a dossier of supporting material.
Peter Waterman, who assisted Martens in delivery of the complaint, felt compelled to help the group because of the importance of upholding the principles of democratic elections, especially knowing who is financially behind each candidate.
“I had two uncles who died defending democracy and a father who was shot down twice and paid for his effort the rest of his life. So elections and democratic freedoms are serious issues for me,” said Waterman, a former councillor who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2008.
In the official complaint, group members say they are particularly concerned about the alleged acceptance of the mayor and councillors of anonymous donations in excess of $50 contrary to section 87 of the local government act.
The Summerland mayor and all six councillors admitted in their campaign financing disclosure statements that they took donations from anonymous sources that exceeded the legal threshold.
The Summerland residents are also concerned about the two groups, perhaps more, which promoted candidates and view points in the 2008 municipal elections and spent more than $500 doing so.
Individuals or groups spending more than $500 are legally required to register with the local chief elector officer.
“I welcome it (the RCMP investigation) frankly. Let‘s clarify exactly what‘s happened and I stand by all of my comments,” said Coun. Ken Roberge when contacted by The Herald.
Roberge said in hindsight he wishes his name hadn‘t been included in advertisements endorsing seven of the candidates. He had topped the polls in three of six elections but finished sixth in 2008 and believes the anonymous ads hurt him in the long run.
He said he doesn’t know Mark Ziebarth, who only recently admitted he was behind the Citizens for Smart Governance ads that ran in local newspapers for several weeks before the election in support of the current mayor and councillors.
Coun. Gordon Clark said he has no comment at the moment but stated he doesn’t think that the RCMP has any jurisdiction in the matter and that court action would have been a more appropriate action.
“I‘m absolutely fine with it and very pleased to have an opportunity to clear my name on this,” Mayor Janice Perrino said, Thursday.
Previously Perrino claimed that questions over the candidates‘ financials were part of a smear campaign.
Patrick Smith, a political science professor at Simon Fraser University said that by not publicly disassociating themselves from the anonymous ads, council members had placed themselves in a position of conflict.
By comparison, faced with endorsement by an anonymous group, Vivian Vaughan, an unsuccessful mayoralty candidate in West Vancouver, publicly disassociated herself form the group during the campaign.

http://www.pentictonherald.ca/stories.php?i=230234

Task Force members

Task Force members

Harry Nyce

UBCM President

Union of BC Municipalities

Suite 60 10551 Shellbridge Way

Richmond, B.C. V6X 2W9

Phone: 604-270-8226

Fax: 604-270-9116

http://ubcm.ca

Hon. Bill Bennett

Minister of Community and Rural Development

PO Box 9056

STN PROV GOVT

Victoria, B.C. V8W 9E2

Phone: 250-387-2283

Fax: 250-387-4312

bill.bennett.mla@leg.bc.ca

Douglas Horne, MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain

East Annex
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC
V8V 1X4

Phone: 250-953-4611

Fax: 250-387-9106

Toll free: 1-800-691-9158

douglas.horne.mla@leg.bc.ca

Donna Barnett, MLA for Cariboo-Chilotin

East Annex
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC
V8V 1X4

Phone: 250-387-3820

Fax: 250-356-5471

donna.barnett.mla@leg.bc.ca

Quesnel Mayor Mary Sjostrom and Surrey Councillor Barbara Steele are both UBCM vice presidents and can be contacted through UBCM or

Mayor Sjostrom

City of Quesnel
410 Kinchant Street


Quesnel B.C.
V2J 7J5

Quesnetl City Hall phone: 250-991-7477

msjostrom@city.quesnel.bc.ca

Councillor Barbara Steele (City of Surrey)

Office Phone : 604-591-4623

Office Fax: 604-591-4481

Others MLA’s you may wish to contact: http://www.leg.bc.ca/

Premier Gordon Campbell

Room 156 Parliament Buildings

Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4

Phone: 250-387-1715

Fax: 250-387-0087

gordon.campbell.mla@leg.bc.ca

Penticton MLA

Hon. Bill Barisoff

Constituency office

210-300 Riverside Drive

Penticton, B.C. V2A 9C9

bill.barisoff.mla@leg.bc.ca

Scott Fraser, MLA for Alberni-Pacific Rim and Opposition critic for Ministry of Community and Rural Development

Room 201 Parliament Buildings

Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4

Phone: 250-387-3655

Fax: 250-387-4680

scott.fraser.mla@leg.bc.ca

The British Columbia Legislative Assembly website is: http://www.leg.bc.ca/

"Cleaning up local elections" - Times Colonist editorial - Dec 8, 2009

Cleaning up local elections

TIMES COLONIST (Victoria, B.C.) DECEMBER 8, 2009

The B.C. Liberals have a tight grip on a task force charged with cleaning up municipal campaign spending and reducing the risk of corruption. Community Minister Bill Bennett will co-chair the task force, promised by Premier Gordon Campbell at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in October.

Bennett described municipal elections as "a bit of the Wild West." There are no limits on donations or campaign spending. Donations to candidates over $50 must be reported, but interest groups can spend as much as they like to support candidates without disclosure. Even when the few rules are broken, enforcement is non-existent.

It is a formula for special-interest influence and a loss of public confidence in government.

Given the low turnout in municipal elections and the importance of name recognition, a well-funded interest group could easily put loyalists on council. Third-party campaigns could mean the source of the funds would never be disclosed.

The issues that councils deal with justify the investment. A public sector union could ensure the election of candidates willing to provide big raises; a developer could stack a council with people ready to comply with rezoning requests. Those who rebel could be denied the funding needed to win the next campaign.

Campbell promised the task force would report by May 30, 2010, on ways to improve "fairness, accountability, transparency and public participation." Changes to election laws would be in place for the 2011 municipal elections.

The task force is welcome. But the composition is disappointing. Bennett will co-chair the group with UBCM president Harry Nyce. Two UBCM vice-presidents -- Surrey Coun. Barbara Steele, a Liberal candidate in 2005, and Quesnel Mayor Mary Sjostrom will be joined by Liberal MLAs Douglas Horne of Coquitlam and Donna Barnett of the Cariboo-Chilicotin riding.

There was a chance to reach out more widely by including non-Liberal MLAs -- either a New Democrat or independent Vicki Huntington -- community leaders, political scientists or average citizens.

The approach raises a realistic concern that the task force starts with a bias that will limit its effectiveness.

Municipal politicians are looking for reforms that include limits on campaign spending and on donations. A survey of 38 B.C. mayors done before the UBCM meeting found 82 per cent supported those measures.

But Campbell has repeatedly rejected calls for limits on contributions to provincial political campaigns. Unions, corporations and individuals should be free to make unlimited donations, as long as the amounts are disclosed after the election, he says. People can then look at the hundreds of pages of contribution reports and watch politicians for the next four years to make sure big donors don't get special treatment.

The argument fails a critical test. Even the appearance that big donations buy special treatment undermines democracy. That's why Manitoba and Quebec have banned union and corporate donations. Ontario allows them, but limits all donations to $15,500 per year (and an extra $15,500 for an election campaign). The federal government has banned corporate and union donations and limited individual donations to $1,000.

The concern is that Liberal MLAs on the task force will be reluctant to accept donation limits in municipal elections when the premier has ruled them out provincially.

The task force has an important job. Its consultations should be broad and guided by the public.

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op-ed/index.html

Endorsement ads came as surprise, says Summerland Mayor - Okanagan Saturday - Dec 5, 2009

Endorsement ads came as surprise, says Summerland mayor

Susan McIver -special to the Okanagan Saturday

December 05, 2009

A scheduled telephone interview with Janice Perrino ended abruptly when the Summerland mayor refused to answer further questions about the controversy facing her council over financial disclosures from the 2008 municipal election.

“I‘d like to tell you my story,” Perrino said in her first interview with the Okanagan Valley Newspaper Group since the meeting of Nov. 9 when Penticton Herald managing editor James Miller questioned council on the disclosures. (She had been at home since early November, recovering from surgery.)

It was revealed that the mayor and councillors had declared cash transactions as in-kind campaign contributions and had exceeded the $50 limit for each anonymous donation.

On Nov. 27, a front-page opinion piece in the Vancouver Sun suggested Summerland council has no legitimacy because of illegal donations during the 2008 campaign.

Absolute shock was how Perrino described her reaction to learning of the questioning over election expenses.

She said that in an attempt to be as open and transparent as possible, and on the advice of the municipality‘s chief electoral officer, she had listed anything of benefit to her campaign.

“We did not try to hide anything. We now realize that we were under no obligation to do so (list the anonymous advertisements),” Perrino said.

During the campaign, a series of advertisements endorsing the current council members appeared in local newspapers, sponsored by a group calling itself Citizens for Smart Governance. Local businessman Mark Ziebarth has since taken credit for the ads.

Perrino claimed that as soon as the ads from Citizens for Smart Governance appeared during the campaign, she contacted the Penticton Herald to find out who had placed them.

The only ad sponsored by Smart Governance in the Herald ran on Nov. 14, the day before the elections.

Ads by the same group began to appear in the Summerland Review on Oct. 23.

Perrino said that after the election, she contacted the Summerland Review and the Herald.

Representatives of both newspapers would not say who had paid for the ads.

“It is the policy of the Penticton Herald to respect client confidentially by not releasing the names of individuals who paid for a particular advertisement,” said Andre Martin, general manager of the Herald.

Martin suspects the policy would be identical at most daily newspapers throughout Canada.

Perrino wants the provincial task force recently appointed to review municipal election laws to address whether newspapers should be allowed to take advertisements supporting candidates without their approval.

Patrick Smith, a political science professor at Simon Fraser University, told CBC Radio that by not publicly disassociating themselves from the anonymous ads, council members had placed themselves in a position of conflict.

Perrino‘s response in this interview was, “These were third-party ads done by other people. I did not take cash donations. I asked, specifically, the Penticton Herald who placed the ads, and they would not tell me.”

When asked about Coun. Sam Elia having identified Ziebarth as a donor, Perrino said, “I was not prepared to put down a name until I knew that was the name the Penticton Herald had. And all you and Mr. Miller had to do was to walk down to the classified department and to ask who placed the ad.”

The Herald‘s client confidentiality policy covers inquiries from the editorial department as well as the general public.

Perrino asked why no one from the Herald had contacted her until early this week. However, she would not say why no council member had responded publicly to Miller‘s questions until the Vancouver Sun article appeared more than two weeks later.

“I beg your pardon. The article (in the Nov. 11 Herald) was quite derogatory, and it is very clear that you‘re into a smear campaign. . . . I‘m done with this interview!” Perrino said.

Perrino is expected to be back in the mayor‘s chair for council‘s next regularly scheduled meeting on Dec. 14.

http://www.pentictonherald.ca/top_story.php?id=228864&type=Local

"Municipal election financing needs to be tightened up" - Vancouver Sun editorial Dec 4, 2009

Municipal election financing needs to be tightened up

VANCOUVER SUN DECEMBER 4, 2009

As municipal politicians go, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg remains in a class of his own. He reported last week that he spent $102 million US to eke out a narrow re-election victory, or $176 for every vote he received.

We don't know of any billionaires seeking municipal office in British Columbia, but if they did, there is no legal impediment to spending an equally ridiculous amount here.

In Canada, we recognize that money can undermine the democratic election process. We don't want anyone to be able to buy an election, so in federal and provincial campaigns, we have strict rules governing how campaigns are financed and how much can be spent.

At the municipal level, however, the rules are much looser and what rules there are have proven difficult to enforce.

This situation has remained despite the potential for corruption that exists as civic governments routinely make decisions affecting how land is used that can make or break local businesses. And dollars spent on municipal elections can be very efficient, given the low turnouts -- often less than 30 per cent.

Last week, Sun columnist Daphne Bramham detailed the somewhat bizarre situation in the Okanagan community of Summerland, where a group of city councillors admitted in a public meeting that they had accepted anonymous donations exceeding the legal limit in the form of newspaper ads that were purported to represent a group called Citizens for Smart Governance, which had not as required registered with the chief electoral officer.

It they were found guilty of such an offence, they could be removed from office, which Bramham points out would have left Summerland without a council.

This week, a local businessman Mark Ziebarth came forward and said he had taken out the ads. But his public acknowledgement doesn't mean election rules weren't violated.

What should matter is what was known by Elections B.C. during the election and what voters were able to find out about their choices before they cast their ballots.

Murky though all this is, what's even less clear is the question of whether any of this will ever be sorted out in court.

The province's position is that it is up to citizens to complain before any action is taken. Even when they do, frustration is often the primary outcome.

In two recent cases where there were allegations of electoral misdeeds in municipal campaigns, police investigated and recommended charges that Crown counsel declined to pursue. So where does that leave citizens who want a legally and fairly elected council? Concerned voters can file a lawsuit. That's not practical because it costs money. More importantly, it's the province's responsibility to ensure that local elections are fairly conducted because municipalities are creatures of the province.

Community Development Minister Bill Bennett accurately characterized the municipal arena as "a bit of the Wild West" compared to provincial and federal elections.

Premier Gordon Campbell, who as the former mayor of Vancouver is no stranger to municipal politics, promised in his speech to the Union of B.C. Municipalities at the end of September to appoint a committee to look into municipal campaign rules.

That committee, to be headed by Bennett and UBCM president Harry Nyce, is to report back by May 31. That committee has yet to be appointed and it is already on a tight timetable. It has to turn in its recommendations in time for legislation to be put in place before the next round of municipal elections, which will be held in November, 2011.

If the premier is serious about reform, and he should be, there must be no more delay.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/Municipal+election+financing+needs+tightened/2301418/story.html

"Did Summerland Council really do anything wrong?" -Penticton Herald editorial Dec 4, 2009

Did Summerland Council really do anything wrong? Friday, December 4, 2009

When Barry Bonds broke Henry Aaron‘s home run record, Hammering Hank had very little to say. He didn‘t attend any of the games when Bonds was within reach of

baseball‘s hallowed record, unlike Lou Gehrig‘s family that was front and centre

during Cal Ripken Jr.‘s incredible run.

Was Henry Aaron a poor sport?

Absolutely not. Although he didn‘t say it publicly, the fact Bonds took performance enhancing drugs probably didn‘t go over well with Aaron, one of the classiest men in the history of professional sport.

It‘s the same way with those who failed in their bid to win a seat on Summerland Council. Supporters of the present council are dismissing these individuals as poor losers but we don‘t necessarily see it that way. Peter Waterman, who failed in a bid for the mayor‘s chair, has yet to make a statement to the press.

There were rules in place and it appears as though there were violations. This statement of claim was brought to the attention of the media by a top political scientist from Simon Fraser University, not losing candidates.

If the shoe were on the other foot, would these present councillors feel differently?

Completing an election expense form isn‘t that difficult. There are procedures to follow to ensure a fair election.

Mayor Janice Perrino and her council have since said that they were "advised" by the Chief Electoral Officer to write down donations for joint newspaper ads as "anonymous"

because they had no clue where the money came from.

If they were given poor advice, it doesn‘t matter. They still violated the act.

This is like a businessman going to his accountant, receiving inaccurate advice, and then breaking the law and being charged with money laundering. The businessman can‘t use the plea of "I was given poor advice".

Except for Ken Roberge, when The Herald questioned council at last month‘s meeting there was mostly silence. It was only after a Page 1 column in the Vancouver Sun that declarations have been made.

Where council members are wrong is that if they indeed were incapable of finding out who the Citizens for Smart Governance were, they should have immediately disassociated themselves with this group. It would have been as simple as placing a one-line disclaimer at the bottom of any election ad, a letter to the editor, a press conference or a statement at a candidate‘s meeting.

None of this was done and this was council‘s major mistake.

(By comparison, ex-Penticton Mayor Dorothy Tinning assured citizens that she was not part of the Penticton League of Sensible Electors or the Okanagan Skaha Residents Association in a letter to the editor in The Herald when

former Penticton mayors were mentioned in

literature regarding the demolition of the

Pen-Hi auditorium.)

There are still unanswered questions.

How did each councillor know what one-seventh of an advertisement would cost? Newspaper and radio ads vary in price based on several factors, size being one.

A prominent businessman has recently come forward to take responsibility for the Citizens of Smart Governance stating he acted alone. Yet under questioning at a meeting last month, Coun. Gordon Clark admitted that he was part of this group.

Did Summerland Council really do anything

awful? That‘s for the voters to decide.

Some believe their sloppy work was unintentional and at the very worse, careless. Others feel if they broke election rules, it‘s like jaywalking, after all, the vote count was decisive.

Something to consider is that council is in control of millions of dollars of taxpayers‘

money - your money. If individual members were careless on election declarations and

accepted inaccurate advice, do we really want them guiding the ship?

It‘s ironic that the Canadian government has committed billions of dollars to send troops to Afghanistan, in part, to help their country run a fair election when in British Columbia our

system is still far from perfect.

-James M. Miller, managing editor

http://www.pentictonherald.ca/stories.php?i=228630&a=41745&d=12445&k=432793090a3363954e7965eb36bf2212

"How would others have handled Summerland Situation?" - Penticton Herald Dec 4, 2009

How would others have handled Summerland situation? By SUSAN McIVER/Special to The Herald Friday, December 4, 2009

Penticton’s chief electoral officer said that when unique situations arise in municipal elections she recommends to candidates they seek legal advice.

“I would suggest that if the candidate has any concerns, that they seek legal advice,” Cathy Ingram said in response to a question about what she would do if candidates inquired after an election about how to handle anonymous newspaper advertisements.

“As the electoral officer and a city employee, I am not in a position to give advice because I should be impartial. If a candidate is concerned, I am not the person they should seek advice from.”

The municipal elections section of the Local Government Act is presently under scrutiny in nearby Summerland after the mayor and successful candidates declared receipt of donations totalling thousands of dollars for newspaper advertisement, cards and flyers from anonymous sources.

It is illegal for a candidate to accept an anonymous donation over $50.

A front page opinion piece in last Friday‘s Vancouver Sun suggested Summerland council has no legitimacy because of illegal donations quoting a political scientist at Simon Fraser University, one of the province’s leading authorities on the subject.

An earlier article in the Penticton Herald which reported on questions raised by Herald managing editor James Miller at Summerland council also revealed that the mayor and councillors had declared cash transactions as in-kind donations and had exceeded the $50 limit for each anonymous donation.

A press release from the District of Summerland on Monday stated “In an effort to be open, honest and transparent, and on the advice of the chief election officer, council members included acknowledgment of ads placed by an anonymous party in their campaign financing disclosure statements for the 2008 local government elections.”

Perrino and Coun. Bruce Hallquist have both been quoted stating they followed the advice of the chief electoral officer in Summerland with respect to their financial statements.

Summerland‘s chief electoral officer, Gillian Matthews, had previously acknowledged in an interview with the Herald that she advised members of the current council on their election expenses declaration.

“A number of candidates asked me what to do about anonymous contributions,” she said.

Matthews said she advised the candidates to acknowledge receipt of these donations on their campaign financial disclosure statements because they had derived benefit from them.

Kelowna‘s chief electoral officer, Stephen Fleming said that he provides candidates with information packages that typically contain copies of relevant legislation, the provincial guide to candidates seeking municipal office and information on where candidates can find additional information such as the provincial website.

Fleming did not want to give a speculative answer as to what he might do in such a situation as Matthews found herself.

In general, however, he did say “We don‘t get into interpretation. We do not provide advice in any detail.”

Jeannette Van Vianen, chief electoral officer for Osoyoos, who said she was uncomfortable discussing the topic with a reporter, did say that candidates have three options with regard to questions.

These are contacting their chief electoral officer or the Ministry of Community Services or seeking their own legal advice.

“At certain times we (electoral officers) can give them (candidates) information from the Local

Government Act. How they interpret it is up to them,” she said.

http://www.pentictonherald.ca/stories.php?i=228591

"Ensuring Fair Elections" - Summerland Review Dec 3, 2009

Ensuring Fair Elections - editorial - Summerland Review December 3, 2009

The act governing municipal elections in British Columbia is badly in need of an overhaul.

In recent weeks, members of Summerland’s present council have come under criticism for a series of advertisements which ran during last year’s campaign.

Each of the seven people endorsed in the series of ads is now serving on council.

But those ads were placed by a third party and were not authorized by the candidates.

If the ads had not been placed anonymously, there would not be an issue now, but the anonymity has led to the questions.

Those responsible for the ads did not intend to do anything to harm or discredit the candidates named.

However, the recent controversy raises the need for changes to the election act.

Under the present system, there is nothing stopping an individual or an organization from anonymously placing an ad on behalf of a candidate.

Even if such ads are placed with the best and most noble of intentions, there are potential problems, as we are witnessing now.

Two small changes to elections legislation could prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future.

First, if each election ad, whether a candidate’s personal advertisement or a third-party ad, were to include the name of the individual or organization paying for it, this particular problem could not arise again.

Second, and more importantly, the elections act needs to have some teeth.

Nobody is responsible for enforcing the elections act. Unless members of the public take their complaints through the legal system, there is no way to deal with violations.

This has to change.

The present elections act falls short if there are no provisions for enforcement.

It is important to have transparency in order to ensure elections are fair.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/summerlandreview/opinion/78377007.html

Advertiser sheds light on "anonymous donations" - Penticton Western News

Advertiser sheds light on "anonymous donations" by Steve Kidd - Penticton Western News December 01, 2009

Allegations about financial irregularities in the campaign financing of all seven members of Summerland council have been laid to rest thanks to a businessman coming forward to take responsibility for the series of ads at the centre of the controversy.

The six councillors and mayor have been under fire since their Nov. 9 meeting, when Penticton Herald editor James Miller called into question anonymous in-kind donations declared by each successful candidate in excess of the $50 limit set out in the municipal elections act.

Miller’s allegations of discrepancies in the candidates’ campaign finances rest upon a series of ads run by the Citizens for Smart Governance, particularly one that ran on Nov. 14, 2008, endorsing Mayor Janice Perrino, along with other candidates, for council.

“Last October and November, I wrote and paid for four advertisements to run in the Summerland Review and one to run in the Penticton Herald,” said Mark Ziebarth in an open letter to all media outlets. The Citizens for Smart Governance, he continued, was not a “shadowy group” it was just him having fun by running the ads under a fictional banner.

“Miller clearly didn’t do much, if any, investigative digging on this topic, and compounded this failure by getting his facts wrong,” said Ziebarth. “All he had to do was walk down the hall from his own desk at the Herald offices in Penticton and ask his publisher who paid for the ad that ran in his own paper on Nov. 14, 2008. He would have found out that that person was me.”

The Herald ran a succession of articles on the topic, including an editorial in which Miller wrote “The whole slate thing stunk.”

Ziebarth contends that there was no “slate,” just his personal recommendations for mayor and council.

“Miller has launched a series of personal, ad hominem attacks on Summerland’s duly elected mayor and council, attacks based on incorrect facts and improper assumptions, and inflamed by a collection of gullible media partners — including CBC Radio’s As It Happens — willing to pass along Miller’s bile without bothering to check into the facts of the matter themselves,” said Ziebarth, a part owner of Bongarde Media.

The Vancouver Sun, in a front-page opinion piece by Daphne Bramham, went so far as to declare Summerland council illegitimate.

“They all ran down the same rabbit hole without stopping to look,” said Ziebarth. While he was mentioned in two Herald articles, Ziebarth said he was never contacted by anyone at the paper.

“I think the Herald is being too virtuous by a factor of a thousand,” said Coun. Gordon Clark, who was acting mayor when Miller confronted council about the disclosure statements. Mayor Perrino was on sick leave at the time, recovering from minor surgery.

Clark explains, that in a “super-abundance of caution,” the seven successful candidates decided to each declare a portion of the estimated cost of the Herald ad.

“We all determined that the careful thing to do would be to disclose the notional costs of what we thought those advertising expenses were by this group called the Concerned Citizens for Smart Governance,” said Clark.

Summerland’s municipal clerk, Gillian Matthews — who was the returning officer for the 2008 election — confirms this is what happened, and that the candidates were acting on her recommendation.

“They were all aware of them (the ads) and they wanted to acknowledge them in the interests of being open and transparent,” said Matthews, adding that since they weren’t involved in the placing of ads, they needn’t have acknowledged them at all.

Adding to the confusion is another group of ads that ran in the Summerland Review, endorsing a slate of candidates. These, however, were not run by Ziebarth, but by an ad hoc group of citizens, with 90 names listed at the bottom of the ad in one case and 250 on a second run of the ad.

“There was another group in Summerland that ran ads,” Ziebarth said. “They collected money from dozens of people to run those ads, and they ran some of their names at the bottom of the ad. I have a feeling Miller mixed up his facts with his wishes.”

“Citizens for Smart Governance is just me,” he said. “I did it just to poke fun at the groups calling themselves the smart growth people, and had great fun with it. And I’m still having fun with it.”

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/pentictonwesternnews/news/78278942.html