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A good example of why all EDAs should have D&O Insurance.
Nomination fight costs plague Alberta Tories
Calgary-Montrose riding awaits ruling on legal bills
Jason Fekete and Tony Seskus, Calgary Herald, Published: Saturday, December 15, 2007
Another ugly nomination proceeding is dogging the provincial Tories in Calgary -- and the fallout from it could see foreclosures on the homes of several volunteers who are suing their own party. On the heels of the party turfing controversial candidate Craig Chandler as the Calgary-Egmont hopeful, the Progressive Conservatives await a decision on a prolonged court battle with another city riding association. A candidate-selection process in Calgary-Montrose, a riding currently held by Tory MLA Hung Pham, is on hold until a judge rules whether the PC party must reimburse its own constituency association for legal bills of about $180,000.
The dispute is tied to a 2004 nomination fight against a former Tory hopeful. The party refused to reimburse the volunteer riding association for the legal costs, so the group of volunteers sued the party for $350,000 and is awaiting the court's ruling. In turn, the lawyer who represented the constituency board is demanding $75,000 he's still owed, slapping liens on the houses of several members of the riding association -- and threatening foreclosure proceedings.
"In the meantime, I'm sitting here in the middle sucking my thumb," Pham quipped Friday in an interview, noting he still plans to seek the party nomination for the next election. "There's nothing I can do." The Calgary MLA said he's confident a court decision will come soon and the nomination process can begin before an expected spring election.
Dale Sailer, president of the Calgary-Montrose PC constituency association and one of several members whose faces possible home foreclosure, said he's hoping for a speedy resolution and that the party will at least cover the legal fees. "What we're trying to do is work in conjunction with the party to get this resolved with as least amount of confrontation as possible," Sailer said.
Tory party president Marg Mrazek and executive director Jim Campbell couldn't be reached for comment Friday after several attempts to speak to them. However, PC officials claim the riding association is autonomous and that the party shouldn't be responsible for the nomination committee's actions. "The process of nomination is conducted by the constituency association, not by the PC Association of Alberta," said the party's statement of defence in the case. "To a substantial degree, the constituency association is autonomous."
However, constituency members insist they are an agent of the party and just followed the orders of the PC organization. If the riding association is truly autonomous, it should be able to appoint candidates without the party's approval -- something it's currently unable to do, Sailer said.
The constituency association's legal bills stem from a fight with Gus Barron, who battled Pham for the Tory nomination in Calgary-Montrose prior to the 2004 election. Barron initially won a lawsuit against the Montrose constituency association, its board of directors and several individuals, arguing he was unfairly disqualified from the nomination race. Alberta's Court of Appeal later overruled the original decision, but the riding association was stuck paying its own legal bill. That led the group to sue the Tory party after it refused to pay the tab.
PART 2
Tories win fight against volunteers
Jason Fekete, Calgary Herald
jfekete@theherald.canwest.com
Published: Thursday, January 24, 2008
The provincial Progressive Conservatives have won a prolonged court battle against some of their own members, a ruling that further muddies when or if the Tories will nominate a candidate in the riding of Calgary-Montrose.
But the decision also leaves several volunteers of the local riding association on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills and could result in foreclosures on their homes.
A Court of Queen's Bench justice has rejected an appeal from members of the Calgary-Montrose PC riding association, who wanted the party to cover about $180,000 in legal fees tied to a 2004 nomination fight against a former Tory hopeful. The party argued the members acted autonomously and refused to reimburse the riding association for the legal costs, which led the group of volunteers to sue the party for $350,000.
The latest ruling, which upheld a previous judgment, dismissed the volunteers' case outright and leaves them to cover the legal tab.
"The volunteers are sad and very upset that the party would turn on volunteers who have been serving the party for 25 years," said Frank Warkentin, treasurer of the Montrose Tory riding association. "They're sending a message they don't care about their volunteers."
The constituency association's legal bills stem from a fight with Gus Barron, who battled current MLA Hung Pham for the Tory nomination in Calgary-Montrose before the 2004 election.
The lawyer who initially represented the constituency board is demanding $75,000 he's still owed, slapping liens on the houses of members of the riding association.
Several volunteers, including Warkentin, have been sent letters warning their houses will be seized within 180 days unless they cough up the cash.
"The party does not care if its volunteers lose their homes," he charged.
What's more, Warkentin insisted the constituency association -- not the party -- has the autonomy to choose a Tory candidate for the riding, and he's "not prepared" to nominate Pham or anybody else as a PC candidate. That would leave the Calgary-Montrose riding without a Progressive Conservative candidate for an election campaign expected within weeks, he suggested.
Warkentin also threatened not to file annual financial statements, which could lead Elections Alberta to delist the PC riding association.
Pham couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday, but PC executive director Jim Campbell said the party stands by the court's decision and won't be reimbursing the riding association for self-incurred legal costs.
While Campbell said he fully expects a nomination will proceed in the riding, he acknowledged the constituency association "has say over the nomination process" and very much dictates who's selected as a Tory candidate. The party's constitution says a nomination meeting "shall be held by each provincial constituency association to select its candidate for the next provincial election." It notes the leader and executive committee must approve all candidates, but after they have been "duly nominated." Campbell added, though, that the party has a dispute resolution process to deal with internal squabbles, where an arbitrator can be brought in to make a ruling.
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