With the election campaign just hours old, Wildrose candidate Travis Hughes called foul on MLA and PC candidate Doug Horner for his use of an electronic sign for constituency advertising.
Hughes opened his office in Spruce Grove, at the far end of the Spruce Grove-St. Albert riding earlier this month. Across the street from the office on Highway 16A he was surprised to see an electronic billboard advertising Doug Horner’s constituency office.
The large billboard rotates through ads and as of Tuesday morning still featured an ad advertising Horner as the MLA, encouraging residents to contact his office.
Horner said that should not have happened and his office is working to get the problem corrected.
“Our contract stipulated that when the writ dropped they were to remove that and put up our campaign sign,” he said. “That would be something that we have asked them to do, to make sure they removed that as soon as the writ dropped.”
The advertising does not contain any party logos or mention the election, but Hughes argues that there is no reason for a local MLA to be advertising a constituency office on such a large billboard.
“Advertising like that, it does nothing to serve the constituents and I am sure the constituents of St. Albert and Spruce Grove would like to know who is paying the bill for that sign.”
Hughes argued it is nothing more than pre-election advertising on the taxpayers’ dime, but Horner said he advertises the contact information for his constituency in newspapers and on billboards.
“We have spread it around. We don’t want to be on one particular place all the time, we do a newsletter twice a year as well,” said Horner.
He said an MLA has to be open and responsive to their constituents and the billboard is just another way to do it.
“You are supposed to be communicating with your constituents and making sure that they know how to get hold of you,” he said. “To suggest that we don’t advertise during the non-writ period is kind of silly.”
Horner and all other sitting MLAs stop being MLAs when the election writ is dropped. Horner said his constituency office is still open but he is not doing any MLA work.
Hughes also said he is suspicious of the timing, saying it appears to him the billboard started the constituency advertising just a few days after his office opened in mid-march.
Horner rejected that suggestion right out.
“I didn’t even know he had opened his office.”
