Summerland residents make official RCMP complaint on election

SUSAN McIVER/Special to The Penticton Herald 12/11/2009
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.