Pep vs. Pops: Will Cummins be goins?

High noon came and went on Oct. 10. John “My Way Or the Highway” Cummins is still the leader of the B.C. Conservative Party and he says he’s not going anywhere.

Fourteen people resigned by the deadline and, he claimed, 381 had signed up since Sept. 3. But a posse of four, three from the Lower Mainland and one from Vancouver Island, want a new sheriff in town. Ooh-hah. Wah-wah-wah.

The PEPPy 4’Oclock Four -- Ian Pyper, Ariane Eckardt, Dr. Allison Patton and Rick Peterson -- held court with the media at the Pan Pacific Vancouver at 4 p.m., to publicly tell Cummins they are staying put, but he should refrain from buying green bananas. The party’s going nowhere with him at the helm, they say, and it’s time for the former fisherman to cut bait and sail away while there is time. Only 30 weeks remain until the May 14, 2013 provincial election and they want him to quit as the $4,000-a-month leader by Friday, almost three weeks after the party's lone, underappreciated MLA, John van Dongen, quit. 

Who are the four? 

Pyper is the Oak Bay-Gordon Head constituency president. Eckardt is president in Burnaby North. Patton, the Surrey White Rock president, is a naturopathic physician with biochemistry and psychology degrees from the University of Victoria. Peterson is an investment banker and investor relations specialist, an ex-Liberal who had his eyes on the Vancouver-Quilchena riding held by retiring Liberal Colin “Co-Father of the HST” Hansen. He is, most importantly, deputy chair of the Conservative finance committee.

Together, they're officially dissenting non-dissenters, who claim they aren’t out to depose Cummins. No, they're not challenging the results of the 71% vote against a leadership review, but won't hesitate to remind one and all that only a paltry third of the party's membership voted. Peterson is a leadership wannabe, but he claims he’s not. And the sky above isn’t coloured blue at noon on a cloudless day.

The Globe and Mail’s Sunny Dhillon asked Peterson about his obvious aspirations, after witnessing the passionate speech in which Peterson made sure he looked squarely into the lenses on the TV cameras, with immediate 6'oclock news ambitions. 

“That question is not relevant,” Peterson protested. He said he wouldn’t answer the question, then claimed he hadn’t even thought of the concept of leadership. 

Peterson’s time at the podium included a passionate warning of the oncoming “orange wave” represented by Adrian Dix and the NDP, “a tax and spend wolf in sheep’s clothing” who is “from the left-wing of a left-wing party.” 

Despite seven months remaining until election day, Peterson claimed there is plenty of time for 70-year-old leader Cummins to get out of the way so someone else could be followed. 

“I'm looking for change,” Peterson said. “I will not accept the status quo. John (Cummins) has the mandate to make change. I side with the CA presidents who are looking for change.

“You're all here looking for blood on the floor. Really what is going to happen is we’re all going to come out of this stronger.” 

Patton is a naturopath, but, for a moment, she was a telepath. 

Before I could finish asking about a photograph from the B.C. Blue blog of her standing between ex-finance minister Kevin Falcon and Premier Christy Clark at a barbecue last summer, Patton flashed an 8x10 glossy of the photo. 

She explained she was invited to the event at Conservative Sen. Gerry St. Germain’s ranch. She was representing the B.C. Naturopathic Association, which had come to know Falcon while he was health minister. 

“In terms of the photo itself, I thought it was kind of funny two top Liberals were endorsing a B.C. Conservative such as myself, and that's why I'm standing in the centre," Patton said. 

Patton and Peterson could be the future of the Conservative party. That is, if Cummins will get out of the way. 

UPDATE Oct. 11: The latest press release (below) from half of the Four O'Clock Four, explains the timing of the Oct. 10 news conference and some of the day's backroom intrigue -- including the bombshell that Cummins was offered $4,000-a-month for six months to step aside so that Rick Peterson could be installed as the leader!

Press Release

Our original press conference Oct 10th was scheduled for noon. Unbeknownst to us, David Wilder (80 year old retired lawyer, the CA Vice-President, Vancouver-Quilchena), had initiated negotiations with John Cummins’ group. He became aware of our press conference and contacted us and indicated that an agreement had been made with John Cummins; he was ready to resign and that the details of his resignation were being worked out. We found out that Mr. Wilder had met with Will McMartin, Al Siebring, John Cummins via two phone calls during the meeting and another unknown individual. Apparently someone else also accompanied Mr. Wilder. Mr. Wilder also informed us that he found Mr. McMartin to be one of the most unpleasant men he had ever met.

Mr. Cummins arranged for a statement with CKNW at noon and this was delayed twice to 1:00 and then 1:30 and so our understanding was that the delay was because he was going to resign. We were made aware that the terms negotiated with Mr Cummins were that he resigns by Friday with $4,000 per month for six months and that Mr Rick Peterson would become interim leader. According to further reports from Mr. Wilder, we discovered Mr. Cummins did not want Mr. Peterson to assume the position but that he wanted one of the women as Deputy Leader until he resigned by Friday. We accepted the terms of his resignation via Mr. Wilder. To our surprise by 4pm when our press conferences took place, Mr Cummins had made no indication of this arrangement.

Allison Patton, President Surrey White Rock CA

Ariane Eckardt, President Burnaby North CA

What now, #JesusLeaks? Crikey!

I'm taking a short break... a very short break... from the long-running, hit reality blog series called #LiquorLeaks and the new spinoff called #LotteryLeaks (I hear Deputy Premier Rich Coleman is a big fan -- not!) to bring you #JesusLeaks.

Yes, the B.C. Conservative Party is imploding under the leadership of John Cummins. The party failed to win either seat in last April's Chilliwack and Port Moody by-elections. It has been downhill ever since. Next May, will the Conservatives be a viable option to form the next Official Opposition (or be kingmakers in a minority scenario)? Or will the party simply be a vessel for a protest vote against the crumbling BC Liberals and little else?

Members are complaining that Cummins didn't do enough on the summertime barbeque season and isn't doing enough to support John van Dongen's noble (and costly) legal quest to unearth the truth about the BC Rail scandal and, especially, the $6 million deal that appeared to have induced surprise guilty please from Dave Basi and Bob Virk on Oct. 18, 2010.

Cummins is facing a leadership challenge. Some B.C. Tories want Cummins to be "goins" before October. 

The last straw for his opponents may have been Cummins' infamous quote in the Vancouver Sun comparing his plight to that of Jesus Christ. 

“I hate to use a biblical reference but Christ had 12 apostles and one turned him in,” Cummins said. “We share the same initials but I can’t rise from the dead and I can’t get unanimity on the board. I wouldn’t expect to be able to. He couldn’t. I can’t.”

While we wait for the ex-fisherman to drop a line about multiplying loaves and fishes or ponder his political resurrection, enjoy the latest Conservative internal communication provided to me by a source on Sept. 5:

Hello, BC Conservative Presidents: 

The feedback I’ve been getting from my address to the membership, this past week, has been positive in the fact that I have had a chance to clear up issues relating to party communication and administration that have been weighing heavy this past term. 

It seems as though there are issues affecting our party that many of you had wished the respect of knowing sooner, but were not privy to. 

Please let me clarify, too, that my intent on bringing to light party matters and the encouragement to vote yes in the leadership review, is that this party can ensure a strong success in the next general election. 

Although you may not be aware, it has been made public knowledge, that our party has limited funds and has weekend its ability to raise funds this term. In fact, last month our expenses were twice that of funds raised. With this in mind, in a vote that was not permitted to go to secret ballot at a board meeting, by our party president Reed Elley when asked for; and in contrast to our one MLA putting up his own money to fight the BC Rail case. John Cummins is now taking $4000.00 per month, plus his expenses, of the party’s limited resources, to add to his extremely high personal income, at a time when we need every resource possible to fight the next general election. With this in mind, we must ask ourselves what the motivation of the leadership of this party is when we have not seen, although we have gone through two by-elections, one workshop to train our volunteers in election readiness. When we had seen the growth of this party’s organisation develop, on an average rate at one Constituency Association (CA) every two weeks from 2010-2011, to a stagnant term where CAs have now resigned and dissolved. To the inability to provide in many instances a positive work environment, respect to volunteers, and a proper channel of communication to you our CA presidents and local representatives. 

The fact of the matter is that we will not be relevant in the next election, even in times like these, through a campaign of press releases and limited resources.

I hope this brings more clarification to recent statements.  

If there are other items I can clear up, you can give me a private call. 

Ben Besler

BC Conservative Party 

Vice President

The First Epistle of Peter (Brown)

It's a "Sky's Falling" letter, but the author is definitely no "Chicken Little."

Peter Brown

Peter Brown is one of British Columbia's top captains of industry and a champion of free enterprise for a half-century. In the letter below, sent to the B.C. Conservative Party and provided to me by a source, Brown paints a bleak picture of the world economy and suggests the only local solution in British Columbia is to keep the NDP from taking office in the 2013 provincial election. Brown mentions the NDP three times, but not the B.C. Liberals or Premier Christy Clark.

"...we are in a very troubled global economic condition that is more serious and likely to be longer in duration than the normal relatively short term post war recessions and that will, in my opinion, impact on global growth, investment and job creation for some time to come. It is a time that responsible British Columbians need to get past their partisan beliefs to hopefully ensure that our politicians don't add another level of uncertainty in an uncertain and economically dangerous world."

Brown is obviously attempting to do his part to unite the right in B.C. But how can it work when every week brings another announcement of a B.C. Liberal leaving the fold? Why would John Cummins and his Tories want to board the sinking Liberal ship? On July 9, MLA Dave Hayer was the latest to announce he would disembark after the election. Hayer recognized former Premier Gordon Campbell in his announcement, but omitted his current manager, Premier Christy Clark.

Clark's government is among the least-trusted in the country. Calls for a public inquiry into the BC Rail scandal intensified in June. The Liberals proceed stubbornly on a controversial and potentially tainted privatization of the Liquor Distribution Branch's warehousing and distribution. Community Living B.C. chairman Denise Turner was given another three-year term on July 3, despite that Crown corporation being a controversy magnet.

(Note: Brown later issued a correction. The last paragraph of page 2 should read 'expiry of the Bush tax cuts which could impact the US economy by over 3% of GDP' not 30%.")

UPDATE JULY 11: Brown's missive was addressed to BC Conservative official Al Siebring and I wondered how Mr. Siebring reacted. He sent me the reply below to Brown's letter, which is displayed in-full at bottom. The problem is not the Conservatives, Siebering concludes, it is the Liberals and their lack of leadership and policy direction.

Mr. Mackin:

My reaction Mr. Brown's letter?  First of all, he lays out an excellent case for fiscal conservatism; precisely the kind of positions that the BC Conservative Party is advocating.  I find myself in agreement with much of his analysis with respect to macro-economics and political/governance philosophy.  Where he loses me is with the line:  "It is critical... that those who contribute to fragmentation of centre right vote come to realize that they are an unintended ally of the left." 

Left unsaid in that line, (but the intent is clear), is the notion that the BC Conservative Party is somehow responsible for the fragmentation.  But I would assert that to the degree the centre right is being "fragmented", it's not the BC Conservative Party which is responsible for the problem.   Rank and file voters who are inclined toward fiscal conservatism are growing increasingly disenchanted with the aimlessness and lack of true leadership that we have seen in the BC Liberal Party; it has become a movement that is seen to be advocating for legislative and policy directions which can no longer be considered "conservative" by any honest measure of the word.

I certainly appreciate Mr. Brown's point that, from his perspective, the goal is to keep the NDP out of power.  However, if we in the BC Conservatives were to fold our tent tomorrow, it's clear the Liberals would lose the next election in any event.  And as John Cummins has clearly said, even if the leadership of the BC Conservative Party were to accept the Liberals' invitation to "crawl back into the tent", our membership simply wouldn't follow us.  There are thousands of former Liberal supporters, myself included, who literally "stayed home" in the last Provincial election.  These people are now being re-engaged with the emergence of a new, truly "centre-right" option which they can enthusiastically support.

Further, as illustrated by the most recent Angus Reid poll released this week, Mr. Brown might wish to ask himself how it is that the leader of the governing party in British Columbia - with all the attendant media attention that comes with that position - can be tied in voter approval with the virtually unknown leader of a "third-place" party?

Mr. Brown is a very intelligent man.  I trust that over time, he will come to see that the BC Conservative Party is not the problem in BC's "centre-right coalition."  The problem is the Liberals, both in terms of their present policy direction and their lack of credible leadership.

Thank you for your question.

Al Siebring,
Chair,
Policy and Platform,
BC Conservative Party

The First Epistle of Peter (Brown)

Contest: Rename the B.C. Liberal Party

Fresh from two by-election losses on April 19 amid the continuing unpopularity of Premier Christy Clark, the B.C. Liberal Party is desperately searching for a way to prolong its grasp on power in British Columbia.

Meanwhile NDP leader Adrian Dix positions himself as Premier-in-waiting and Conservative leader John Cummins could become leader of the opposition.

Some Liberal strategists are trying to convince themselves that the problem is not their leader, but on their label. They're pondering a name change, which can be a risky proposition. There have been many failures in the high-stakes world of rebranding.

Should they co-opt the old Social Credit name to rejuvenate the free enterprise coalition? Should they call it the Pacific Dogwood Party, after the provincial flower? Or just simply call the whole thing "Gordon," for the first names of ex-leaders Gordon Gibson, Gordon Wilson and Gordon Campbell? (Maybe they could adopt the red, white and blue ball icon from the Barenaked Ladies' "Gordon" album as a symbol of the liberal/conservative coalition?)

What do you think? What should be the new name for the B.C. Liberal Party?

The best, most creative suggestion for a monicker makeover wins a personalized copy of my new e-book, Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics. Deadline is noon PDT on May 12.

The winner will be announced May 14, which is, coincidentally, the one-year countdown to the next scheduled provincial election.

Vote early, vote often. Comments accepted below or via email to 2010goldrush (at) gmail.com. Be tasteful and stay classy, please.

March madness seals Clark’s fate

Mamas, don’t let your children grow up to be British Columbia premiers.

Why? Because they would have to endure the monstrous month of March. The west coast version of the Ides of March hath 31 days and its legacy is one of resignation and rejection.

In 1991, it was the last full month in power for Social Credit Party Premier Bill Vander Zalm. The Socreds, B.C.’s free enterprise coalition, lost six by-elections, 11 cabinet ministers either quit or were fired and party members defected.



Vander Zalm came to power as Bill Bennett’s successor in 1986 as the dark-horse, outsider candidate in the famed Whistler leadership convention. By March 1991, he was under investigation by conflict of interest commissioner Ted Hughes for his role in the sale of his Fantasy Garden World in Richmond to Taiwanese billionaire Tan Yu.

Finance minister Mel Couvelier resigned in protest, proclaiming that Vander Zalm should have stepped aside while under a cloud. Vander Zalm finally quit on April 2. Deputy Premier and Transportation Minister Rita Johnston, who ran a Surrey trailer park, took over as the first female premier in Canadian history but lost the Oct. 17 election. The Socreds fell from 47 seats to seven, Mike Harcourt and the NDP took power with 51 seats and the upstart B.C. Liberals went from zero to 17, making Gordon Wilson the leader of the opposition.



Fast forward eight years to 1999. New Democratic Party Premier Glen Clark’s evening was ruined March 2 when RCMP officers (who were trailed by BCTV cameras) raided his East Vancouver house to search for clues in the North Burnaby Inn casino licence caper. Two weeks later, police searched Clark’s office in Victoria. He quit the premiership on Aug. 21 and the NDP was reduced to just two seats in the Legislature after Gordon Campbell and the Liberals won the May 16, 2001 election by a landslide.

Now Premier Christy Clark (no relation to Glen Clark) is suffering the worst month of her political career. If history is your guide, she is at a point of no return -- stick a fork in her, she's done. She will be looking for a new job immediately after the May 14, 2013 election. Maybe sooner. All because of the March from hell.

Consider the timeline for Clark's chaotic, career-defining March of 2012:

March 2: The infamous Telus news conference with the Darren Entwistle/Adrian Dix photo opportunity. Clark was inexplicably absent from a jobs and investment announcement by the biggest private corporation in B.C. (A Liberal donor, to boot.) Two days later, the government broke its silence and claimed she wasn’t invited because of a certain unresolved issue: the B.C. Place Stadium naming rights negotiations with Telus.

March 5: School’s out. B.C. Teachers Federation stages a three-day, province-wide strike over the deadlock in contract negotiations and the government's plan to legislate a new deal.



March 6: B.C. Supreme Court trial management conference between lawyers for Quebec’s Canam Group and France’s Freyssinet reveals grease leaks from support cables have damaged B.C. Place Stadium’s new fabric roof. It could cost up to $10 million to fix. An 85-day trial is in the works to begin October 2013.

March 7: Minister responsible Pat Bell confirms the $40 million Telus naming rights deal is dead. Bell claims the B.C. Place name is “iconic.” The government claims the deal was $35 million and wasn’t “good” for taxpayers. When that explanation doesn’t fly, it desperately claims the Telus Place signs were too big.

March 9: The resignation of Liberal bagman and Howe Street tycoon Peter Brown from the B.C. Pavilion Corporation board is confirmed.

March 11: The Province begins a series of stories on the private college company Eminata Group, calling into question the credibility of government oversight of for-profit, post-secondary education. Eminata owner Peter Chung's previous private colleges in California were fined $12 million for defrauding students. Chung donated $4,100 to the Liberals in 2009.

March 13: Clark’s news conference at the Washington Marine Group shipyard in North Vancouver to hype the half-anniversary of her B.C. Jobs Plan is overshadowed by reporters’ questions about the failed B.C. Place naming rights deal, despite new communications director Sara MacIntyre’s attempt to make a list of reporters and limit them to one question apiece.

March 14: Gum-chewing MacIntyre prevents reporters from asking questions of Clark at a photo opportunity in the Globe 2012 trade show, despite a media advisory that invited reporters to come and ask Clark questions.

March 15: The Ides of March! Bill 22 to end the teachers’ strike and outlaw another walkout passes, but the day is all about multiculturalism minister of state Harry Bloy’s resignation for breaching his oath of confidentiality by giving a Province newspaper reporter’s email to an Eminata executive. Bloy was the only MLA to support Clark's leadership campaign in 2011.

March 22: Liberal MLAs Randy Hawes and Marc Dalton quoted in the Abbotsford Times after claiming $185,000 in repairs for a Mission hockey rink’s dehumidifiers came from a non-existent $30 million surplus from the B.C. Place renovation.

Clark calls April 19 by-elections in Port Moody and Chilliwack, labels popular ex-Port Moody Mayor, former supporter and new NDP candidate Joe Trasolini a “party-switcher,” and announces an audit of TransLink to find $30 million. Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom found out about the audit like the rest of us -- from reporters.

March 24: Clark works a rare Saturday as she joins John Yap (multiculturalism), Rob Howard (transportation secretary) and Moira Stilwell (health secretary) for a hastily called, staged swearing-in ceremony with Lt.-Gov. Steven Point for their new junior cabinet posts.

March 26: Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen, the former Solicitor General and a five-time election winner, stood up in Question Period and dropped the biggest bombshell of the month. He quit the Liberal caucus and party to sit as an independent MLA and join the B.C. Conservatives. He cited Clark’s ties to the B.C. Rail privatization scandal and the B.C. Place naming rights deal. He also announced the hiring of a lawyer to investigate Clark over the B.C. Rail matter.

"Mr. Speaker, I had hoped that there would have been renewal in my party and in government. But, in the past 12 months, that has not happened. Indeed, every week constituents question government actions and issues that I am not able to defend. What I believe people expect from political leadership are core values that include integrity and a genuine commitment to public service.

"Integrity includes honesty, ethics and personal character. Integrity is non-negotiable. It is foundational for a strong organization. Most importantly, integrity includes accountability.

"To this day, Mr. Speaker, there are still serious unanswered questions regarding the writing-off of 6 million dollars in legal fees in the BC Rail case contrary to government policy. Questions I have been asking for a year-and-a-half, and questions the Auditor General is seeking answers to through the courts.

"Most recently, the unexplainable cancellation of a 35 million dollar naming rights agreement with Telus is another example of failed leadership.

"There have been other lapses in proper accountability and I expect more to come. When more and more decisions are being made for the wrong reasons, then you have an organization that is heading for failure."

Clark's whereabouts are publicly unknown.

March 27: Appearing weary and with deep bags under her eyes, Clark resurfaced for a news conference to criticize van Dongen. "The only thing John van Dongen accomplished yesterday was making it a little easier for the NDP to get elected in British Columbia." Clark once again uses the "nothing to see here, move along" tactic, claiming a B.C. Rail public inquiry is unnecessary. (Two of the scandal's expert observers beg to differ on the need to know all the facts about the biggest government corruption case in the province's history.)

Meanwhile, an Angus Reid Public Opinion said her approval rating fell nine points since August 2011 to 33 percent -- the second worst in the country.

Liberal defector Rick Peterson, a prominent supporter of Finance Minister Kevin Falcon’s failed 2011 leadership bid, launches his campaign for the Conservative nomination in Vancouver-Quilchena, the riding held by ex-finance minister Colin Hansen. Peterson scoffs at Clark's claims that supporting the Conservatives will pave the way for the NDP. He says free enterprise is about competition and there should be competition for the free enterprise vote in 2013.

March 28: Liberal-friendly, Prince George academic Charles Jago appointed as mediator for the BCTF dispute at a rate of $2,000-a-day. Jago, the former president of the University of Northern B.C., called his task “mission impossible.” How’s that for optimism?

Jago has no apparent mediation experience and donated $1,000 to Liberal fundraising golf tournaments in 2007 and 2010. Jago was appointed to the boards of Partnerships B.C. and 2010 Legacies Now. The September 2007 opening of the $31 million UNBC sports centre named for him drew a who’s who of B.C. cabinet, including Premier Gordon Campbell.

Falcon and Education minister George Abbott tell reporters they might not run in the next election. The two leadership losers were gearing up for a fall 2011 campaign and, had they won seats, would be six months into a four-year term. Now they are waffling as it appears their party's grip on power is fading. Life is a little less interesting on the opposition side of the house, not to mention the paycheque smaller.

Was Falcon’s claim that he might quit politics in 2013 to devote more time to his young family an intentional or unintentional subliminal jab at Clark, a single-mother who is struggling as premier after only a year on the job?

March 30: The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union announces that it has reached an impasse in talks with the government for a new master agreement for its 25,000 members. The contract expires March 31. A strike vote is planned for April.

Clark's government, which previously said public sector workers would get no raises, is offering a 3 percent increase over two years, but BCGEU wants a 4 percent annual increase.

(The previous week, the BCGEU reached a deal with government that it claims will protect the 500 Liquor Distribution Branch workers when and if a private company takes over the government's warehousing and distribution of liquor in B.C. Odd how it took a quick month from Finance minister Kevin Falcon's announcement until the BCGEU announcement.)

March 31: The one-year countdown to the end of the Harmonized Sales Tax. The Aug. 26, 2011 referendum result effectively scuttled a fall election and forced Clark to phase-out the tax that ruined Gordon Campbell's premiership. The mail-in referendum attracted 1.61 million ballots (compared to 1.64 million total votes cast in the previous election.) Votes to scrap the HST (881,198) exceeded the number of votes the Liberals had in the 2009 election (751,661). Consumers and businesspeople alike have criticized Clark for her reluctance to phase-out the cash cow HST sooner.

In early March, Clark publicly repudiated the Telus naming rights deal for B.C. Place that would have eased the burden on taxpayers for the budgeted $563 million renovation. She ended the month in West Kelowna for the Hockey Night in Canada announcement of the $100,000 2012 Kraft Hockeyville winner.

Yes, the same Premier who declined the $35 million to $40 million deal because it wasn't "good for taxpayers" got involved in the cheese, crackers and snacks company's nationwide marketing promotion in the hopes that it would help renovate a public hockey rink.

Alas, the result was errantly leaked by Kraft to media outlets early Saturday morning. Stirling-Rowdon, Ontario beat West Kelowna by 1.2 million votes and will also get to host a National Hockey League exhibition game as a prize. West Kelowna got a $25,000 consolation prize to spruce up its rink.

Unlike the rest of her problems in March, there is no evidence that Clark is to blame. Just another case of bad luck and bad optics.