PC party fines

It may take more than a hefty fine to make it crystal clear to PC leadership candidate Jason Kenney that the rules apply to him.

The PC party has fined Kenney $5,000 for breaching party rules for renting a hospitality suite in the same location as the delegate selection vote was happening last week at the Millwoods golf course clubhouse.

The PC party has scrubbed the results of the delegate selection in the Edmonton-Ellerslie riding and has ordered a new vote. Chief returning officer Rob Dunseith, who investigated the complaint and issued the fine, has recommended part of the fine be used to pay for the new vote.

In his ruling, Dunseith said the Kenney campaign appeared to be testing the rules when it went ahead and opened a hospitality suite just metres away from where party members were to choose delegates for the March leadership convention. Dunseith said Kenney should not have set foot in the building at all, let alone circulating among people who were set to vote, since rules prohibit undue pressure on those voting for delegates. Byron Nelson and Richard Starke, two PC leadership candidates, filed complaints.

Dunseith was prepared to concede that the definition of “near” might be open to interpretation.

However, in our view the spirit of the rule is not open to interpretation at all. Kenney was circulating among people who were waiting to attend the delegate selection meeting. This is the same thing as a candidate hanging out at a polling station during a general election in an effort to influence voters. It is not allowed.

Kenney's golly-gee-I-didn't-know-that-wasn't-allowed response lacks credibility. He is no new kid on the block. He and his campaign know exactly what is allowed and what is not. They also know the spirit of the rules they are trying to skirt.

Kenney seems to be trying to bull-doze his way through delegate selection meetings, in his stated effort of uniting the PC and Wildrose parties under one banner.

Just days after staging the hospitality suite in Millwoods, the Kenney team was distributing lists of Kenney-approved delegate candidates during a delegate selection meeting in Spruce Grove. The action prompted complaints to the PC party saying this breaks the rules. Those complaints are still being investigated.

St. Albert PC leadership candidate Stephen Khan says Kenney's actions are a black eye to the PC party.

“We actually have three people who are vying for the leadership and one person who is trying to destroy the party,” Khan said.

Following the fine to Kenney, PC Party President Katherine O'Neill said in a media release: “Our party is committed to a fair, open and transparent race during this leadership process.”

“We want to rebuild our trust and relationship with all Albertans,” she said.

So far, no other candidates appear to have trouble following the rules.

If Kenney is really that clueless about fair-play and following the rules, he is not fit to lead. If he is that deliberate about skirting the rules, he is not committed to the fair, open and transparent leadership process the party has pledged to in its efforts to rebuild trust and relationship with Albertans.