With the vote to decide the Lakeland's next PC candidate now less than two weeks away, a former member of the local party's nominating committee has branded this year's voting system "grossly unfair and unjust.
With the vote to decide the Lakeland's next PC candidate now less than two weeks away, a former member of the local party's nominating committee has branded this year's voting system "grossly unfair and unjust."
Speaking to the Nouvelle last week, longtime PC member and supporter Ron Young told how he had been swiftly removed from his position on the nominating committee less than 24-hours after suggesting the committee should consider placing additional polling stations in Bonnyville and Glendon to go along with the station already confirmed for Cold Lake.
"Basically, to go right back to the start, this whole thing kicked off pretty quickly after the head provincial party told us our local nomination date would be Feb. 21, so we had to move things along pretty quickly," Young said. "In the space of a couple of weeks, things (have just escalated and escalated)."
The beginning of the problems for the local committee started when an advertisement that was scheduled to run in four local newspapers, only ran in one. Because the PC party's constitution states an election must be properly advertised in local newspapers at least a week before the nomination process begins, there was a need to re-advertise.
Young saw that as an opportunity for the local committee to look into the possibility of placing additional polling stations both in Bonnyville and Cold Lake.
"We were told that the main reason we couldn't (run polling stations in Bonnyville and Cold Lake) was because we didn't list (those potential locations) in that initial advertisement," Young said. "Once I found out we needed to re-advertise, I tried to push for the additional polling stations."
According to Young, that plea was not well received by the local nominating committee and, after he publicly voiced his opinion regarding the polling situation, he was removed from the committee last Wednesday (Feb. 4).
Speaking to the Nouvelle on Thursday, Young said he wasn't necessarily angry to have been removed from his position, and instead stated he just wants to see the local nominating committee do the right thing and give each of its constituents a "fair and equal opportunity" to vote on Feb. 21.
"You know, the one thing I asked people in Cold Lake to remember is if the committee had decided there would only be one polling station and that station was going to be in Glendon, would everyone in Cold Lake feel it was fair?" Young said.
"Nobody can tell me if we move forward with one polling station in Cold Lake that we're not disenfranchising our (voters) in Bonnyville and our (voters) in Glendon."
Chair of the local nominating committee Carol Reynolds-Wittman told the Nouvelle last week that the committee had exhausted all available measures prior to booking the polling station in Cold Lake, and with the clock ticking, there wasn't much time left to add extra polling stations in time for the Feb. 21 nomination.
"The committee went through a process to determine where to have our polling station and nomination meeting on Feb. 21 and our first choice was actually to hold it at the (Centennial Centre) in Bonnyville, but that facility was already booked," Reynolds-Wittman said. "Our second choice was the Agriplex, but that was booked too. Ardmore was also mentioned as a potential location, but the nominating committee dismissed that."
She added, "The role of the nominating committee is to create a process that is open, fair and democratic for all eligible voting constituents."
At last count, the local PCs had just over 200 members signed up that would be eligible to vote in the nomination process, a far cry from the 1,700 who turned up to back current MLA Genia Leskiw during her own process back in 2007.
While Reynolds-Wittman claimed the committee "was not opposed" to opening up polling stations in other locations, she doesn't feel there are enough volunteers in the community to implement a multiple poll system.
"Each polling station, according to regulations, needs to have five volunteers vetted. We'd need to vet them for each location and quite frankly, as of the latest list, we have 12 members in Glendon, so to have five volunteers vetted and set up a station in Glendon doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Reynolds-Wittman said.
"Although we value those members, if they are true members that would like to vote and want their voice heard, I don't believe having them drive to Cold Lake is out of the question."
When quizzed about the possibility of implementing a second voting station in Bonnyville, Reynolds-Wittman claimed the window to set up another station had now closed.
"This committee has decided we don't have the time or resources to be able (to run several polling stations) properly. We want to make sure our nomination process retains its integrity from start to finish and we'd rather have one poll run very well and transparently than to run around and do too many polls and have things fall apart," she added.
Young claims there is "no shortage of man power and commitment" in the Bonnyville - Cold Lake region when it comes to volunteering, and he believes it would take him "maybe ten minutes" to find enough people to man additional stations in Bonnyville and Glendon.
"The only fair way that we (move forward) with this process is to have three polling stations. There's no shortage of man power and commitment in this area - it would be entirely possible to have three polling stations if that's what the constituency's nominating committee agreed to," Young said.
With only eleven days to go until the nomination process begins, Young believes it will take provincial intervention for the local nominating committee to even consider bringing in additional polls.
Reports emanating from Edmonton early Monday morning seemed to suggest the PC provincial nomination committee would be stepping up to the plate to ensure equal access for voters across the entire region.
Although locals will still have to drive to Cold Lake to vote on Feb. 21, they now have the option of participating in an advanced poll in Bonnyville, with the province setting up a voting booth at the ACFA Hall on Feb. 19 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The regular vote will take place as scheduled in Cold Lake at the Seniors Centre from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 21.
Despite everything that has happened, Young said all he wants is what's best for the party and what's best for the local constituency.
"At the end of the day, I wish both candidates all the luck in the world. This doesn't have anything to do (with my personal opinions), I just wouldn't like to see a candidate win the nomination and have it tainted by the impression of the majority of the people in this constituency that the process itself was tainted," Young said.
