| Audit should be ordered by mayor Penticton Herald Friday, November 13, 2009 |
Although the issue of the election expenditures in Summerland may seem trivial on the surface, it is incredibly important when viewed through a wider lens.
After hearing rumblings that some citizens might file an official complaint to the provincial government about the strange declarations made during the 2008 municipal election, our news team conducted exhaustive research. It‘s obvious after reviewing the Local Government Act as well as the candidate‘s
expense forms that several procedures were broken. At the very least, clarrification must be provided.
After probing the declarations in neighbouring Penticton, we found everything was above board. One school board candidate in Penticton was fined for filing 48 hours late. We checked the statements of Summerland‘s two successful school board candidates. Again, everything was properly presented.
While many of our discoveries could be considered nit-picking or harmless oversights, something as important as following the Elections Act shouldn‘t be taken trivially.
This is especially disturbing considering Summerland has mostly experienced people on its council. They should know proper procedure. If they didn‘t, Summerland Town Hall has a competent staff which is trained and could answer questions.
Among the issues is the Smart Governance group. All of the councillors in attendance at Monday night‘s meeting said they are definitely not part of this organization. Many said they knew very little about this group.
I‘ll take everybody at their word but most people who run for office would inquire as to who was behind an organization giving such glowing references in print.
The whole slate thing stunk.
The councillors elected have all made extremely notable contributions to their community prior to the election. They all could have won on their own merit. There appears to be a person or persons in the community who definitely wanted to see these seven individuals elected.
I also wonder why a group that‘s so concerned about the well-being of its community wouldn‘t offer suggestions on who to vote for the school board. After all, isn‘t the education and safety of our children and grandchildren equally as important as to who determines water rates and policies on sewage treatment?
Anonymous donations are fine up to a certain point. However, when the citizens are not given the entire list of contributors to the dime, it strikes at the very heart of democracy.
I‘ll make a comparison to business.
Let‘s say a restaurant owner discovers his best teenage employee failed to wash his hands after going to the bathroom. Do you fire the kid even though he‘s your greatest asset? Maybe not, but you‘d certainly issue a week‘s suspension or, at the very least, a harsh disciplinary letter. Perhaps keep him around if he voluntarily apologizes.
Once Mayor Janice Perrino returns to her job (she‘s recovering from surgery), the best thing she could do is call for an immediate and independent audit of election expenses.
This would either put an immediate end to false assumptions and allow council to get on with its business, or, it could expose those who made a mockery out of the process our veterans fought and died for.
-James Miller, managing editor
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