Conservative leader resigns

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: July 02, 2009 6:00 PM

An insider insists the B.C. Conservatives are strong despite much of its executive stepping down. Leader Wilf Hanni, vice-president Bob Eedy and seven directors announced Tuesday they are immediately resigning their positions over what they describe as party turmoil. “I wouldn’t say there was in-fighting but there was a group that claimed to represent the party. We had to take that to court to get it resolved last year,” said Wayne McGrath, party president and former Vernon mayor. McGrath is confident the party can survive the resignations. “The last election was a huge improvement over the previous one,” he said. “I get the feeling that there’s a tremendous desire on the part of the electorate to have an alternative to the NDP and Liberals. Membership is starting to grow.”

In a release, Hanni and the other directors defended the decision to leave their duties.“We have spent much of the last four years fighting a long and protracted battle with a group of dissidents. As a result, the party has amassed almost $30,000 in legal bills and we still have not managed to unite the members of the board of directors. A small band of board members still insists on fighting and having its own way,” states the release. “We were hoping to achieve peace in the party so that we could work together to build on our success and turn our party into a real force in the next election campaign, but our efforts continue to be undermined. The constant infighting is continuing and there does not appear to be any end in sight.”

But McGrath claims the resignation may have to do more with the Conservatives not winning any seats during May’s provincial election. “The general feeling is the members would be interested in considering replacing the leader. It looks like Mr.. Hanni wanted to avoid that and quit,” he said. Beryl Ludwig, who ran for the party in Shuswap, believes there has been a power struggle in the party. “It’s very disappointing but there’s been infighting and this will hopefully settle it,” she said of the resignations. “A lot of people have joined and sometimes new people help.” The B.C. Conservatives will hold an annual general meeting in Chilliwack Sept. 26 and McGrath says a date will have to be set for a leadership race.