Calls for a leadership review among BC Conservatives are the work of a disgruntled minority, a Kelowna-based party official says. The overwhelming majority of party members support the continued leadership of John Cummins, according to Jim Sutherland."The very, very, very small number of people calling for a leadership review have no credibility with the vast majority of party members," Sutherland, who oversees seven BC Conservative constituency associations, said Thursday. "Mr. (John) Cummins is a tremendous leader who has taken us from just two per cent in the polls to where we are today," Sutherland said. "Today in the Okanagan, we are just marching away from everybody else in the polls." One of the BC Conservatives calling for a review of Cummins leadership is Ben Besler, vice-president of the party. In an email sent to all party members, Besler encourages them to vote for a review in advance of the party's convention later this month in Vancouver. Besler accuses Cummins of taking too high a salary, draining the party's limited financial resources, and of not working hard enough to encourage the formation and growth of BC Conservative constituency associations. "John Cummins is now taking $4,000 per month, plus his expenses, of the party's limited resources, to add to his extremely high personal income, at a time when we need every resource possible to fight the next general election," Besler writes in the email.
"The fact of the matter is that we will not be relevant in the next election, even in times like these, through a campaign of press releases and limited resources," Besler says. All party members have been mailed a question asking them if they support a leadership review. If more than 50 per cent of those who respond say yes, such a review must automatically be held. Sutherland says there's no chance of that threshold being reached: "The great majority of party members are against a leadership review." Sutherland is running against Besler for the party' vice-presidency, with the vote to be taken at the convention. Sutherland says he was asked to do so by other party leaders impressed with the way the Conservatives have formed constituency associations and signed up new members in the Okanagan. Besler, who has not responded to reporters' calls concerning the email he sent to party members, has been a member of the BC Conservatives for almost a decade, Sutherland says, dating back to the time when the party was on the political margins. "He and some of the others calling for a leadership review, they're some of the party old-timers," Sutherland said. "They're losing control of the party, and they're doing everything they can to retain control."
"The fact of the matter is that we will not be relevant in the next election, even in times like these, through a campaign of press releases and limited resources," Besler says. All party members have been mailed a question asking them if they support a leadership review. If more than 50 per cent of those who respond say yes, such a review must automatically be held. Sutherland says there's no chance of that threshold being reached: "The great majority of party members are against a leadership review." Sutherland is running against Besler for the party' vice-presidency, with the vote to be taken at the convention. Sutherland says he was asked to do so by other party leaders impressed with the way the Conservatives have formed constituency associations and signed up new members in the Okanagan. Besler, who has not responded to reporters' calls concerning the email he sent to party members, has been a member of the BC Conservatives for almost a decade, Sutherland says, dating back to the time when the party was on the political margins. "He and some of the others calling for a leadership review, they're some of the party old-timers," Sutherland said. "They're losing control of the party, and they're doing everything they can to retain control."
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