Walking away from the facts
February 27, 2008 | 12:20 PM
John Archer
When a politician makes a statement that is proven to be false, they have a couple of options. They can claim to have been taken out of context, look for shades of grey to put up a brave front, or retract their remark and apologize. Edmonton-Centre Tory candidate Bill Donahue has chosen none of the above.
We ran a story earlier in the campaign about a piece of Donahue's campaign literature that had been distributed to households throughout the constituency and is still on his campaign website.
It says the Liberals "committed to participate in a multi-party advisory committee to assist and guide in the redevelopment of the legislature grounds" and "instead of following through with their commitment, they simply walked away."
This is something Liberal candidate Laurie Blakeman said took "a lot of gall to bald-faced lie in this kind of manner."
Blakeman was a member of the committee. It met three times soon after its creation, remained stagnant for about six months and then was disbanded by Infrastructure Minister Ty Lund.
Following that, Blakeman twice asked the new minister, Luke Ouellette, to re-establish the committee. She also returned $3,000 she had been paid for being a member of the committee for those six months when nothing happened.
This information was well-documented in the media in late 2006 and early 2007.
In my first conversation with Donahue, he said he would look into the statement on his campaign material to see if it was accurate. I caught up to him on Monday night to see if he stands by the claim that the Liberals "walked away."
He not only stands by the claim, but has broadened his criticism: Ty Lund should have known better; all the committee members walked away from the work; Blakeman should have fought harder for the legislature grounds.
For the record, click here for audio of our discussion.
Comments: (6)
Sounds typical of the conservatives, they never have had to care what they said or did to whom, as they knew that they would be reelected without even trying. The PC ruling junta have never even had an opposition to speak of. Ty Lund is from my constitutency, and looks more like a walking corpse everyday.He is so disinterested in his job, that it is time to throw the towel in.
Posted March 2, 2008 05:20 PM
Yikes! Bill Donahue showed up on my doorstep, and I was polite and pleasant to him. If I had listened to this recording beforehand, our encounter would not have been pleasant at all. What an arrogant, lying, mean-spirited jerk.
Fortunately, Edmonton Centre voters know Laurie Blakeman; they like Laurie Blakeman; they will re-elect Laurie Blakeman. Bill Donahue: brace for a third-place finish. Laurie #1, Deron Bilous #2.
Again: Yikes.
Posted February 29, 2008 03:40 PM
SHAMEFUL that he still is misleading constituents.
Laurie has always demonstrated openness and accountability.
Posted February 27, 2008 11:06 PM
Are you really surprised? His leader walks away from the facts, too. Look at his baseless stats about the Liberals' climate change policy (among other things).
Posted February 27, 2008 08:38 PM
Wow. Wow. All I can say is wow.
Posted February 27, 2008 03:44 PM
Not much of a choice here. I am glad to be able to give Laurie Blakeman my vote again this election. She has been an excellent MLA over the years.
Posted February 27, 2008 03:04 PM