Returning to sender
February 18, 2008 | 03:30 PM
Scott Dippel
It’s been one week we broke the returning officer story on CBC Radio, and judging by Tory Leader Ed Stelmach’s reaction to it and the tips still coming in to the CBC, this story isn’t over yet.
The strangest part of this thing is that it could have been short-circuited. Alberta political junkies might recall the death of the MLA pension plan. In 1993, it was a sideshow but an embarrassing one for the government. A newly-minted premier, Ralph Klein, made it go away overnight by scrapping the MLA pension.
After a few days of watching the returning officer controversy grow from a sideshow to the centre stage last week, Stelmach’s position evolved from indifference to saying maybe it’s something that should be looked at — but not until after the March 3 election.
Of course, no one would be talking about this if the PC government had just accepted the 2006 recommendation by the province’s new chief electoral officer to de-politicize returning officers by taking away the government’s power to appoint them.
Allie Wojtaszek, Edmonton-Meadowlark's returning officer, posted several photos to her public Flickr account, including one of herself and husband Duncan wearing Dave Hancock Tory leadership T-shirts. Her husband is also the president of the riding's Tory constituency association.
The question is WHY is Stelmach defending the current system? Only the Tories know.
One MLA told me last week that there’s nothing wrong with the current system but then acknowledged that allowing defeated nomination contestants or sitting constituency board members to be returning officers crosses the line. Why? Because “the public demands better.”
When asked if the Conservatives would allow Liberal, NDP or Alliance constituency associations to appoint ROs in the ridings they held, this same Tory MLA said: “No damn way because they can’t be trusted.” Clear?
Federal Conservatives introduced Accountability Act
In 2006, the top legislative priority of an Alberta Conservative MP named Stephen Harper was the Accountability Act. One of its provisions was to strip government of the power to appoint returning officers and turn it over to the chief electoral officer.
The idea was to prevent government from acting in a way that could be seen to be monkeying with the impartial electoral system. The act is in place now. Check the rules to see how Ottawa now ensures political neutrality among ROs.
A Tory MLA rebuts that Harper had to take extreme measures to counter Liberal arrogance. Apparently, such legislative checks are only required in Ottawa.
One can’t help but wonder if there ever is a tie vote and a returning officer with PC credentials has to vote to break the deadlock. If he/she sides with the PC party, will Ed Stelmach then wish his government had allowed the chief electoral officer to appoint his own referees?
