Staff reporter
A local political activist and former leader of the Alberta Green Party has found himself in a controversy over flyers that were delivered to residents of the Calgary-Glenmore constituency prior to the Sept. 14 byelection in that riding that saw the Progressive Conservatives lose the seat to the Wildrose Alliance Party.
In an e-mail dated Sept. 11, acting chief electoral officer Lori McKee-Jeske informed Joe Anglin of Rimbey that Elections Alberta had received a public complaint suggesting the flyers were distributed with the use of a voter’s list.
“First of all, we don’t feel he’s broken any part of the Election Act,” said Drew Westwater, director of election operations and communications for Elections Alberta, who spoke on behalf of McKee-Jeske. “We’ve had a complaint alleging that, based on the news release Mr. Anglin put out with his flyer, he stated that he sent a direct mail-out flyer to the registered voters of the Calgary-Glenmore riding, and that’s what we’re investigating as a result of the complaint we received.”
Not so, said Anglin.
“He’s completely wrong and he’s misstated. I never sent out the flyer with the press release. The flyer was sent to Canada Post on Tuesday for delivery on Friday. The press release was sent to the media to inform them that the flyers had been delivered. The fact is, what I was told and in the letter I got from them and indicated this somewhat because it’s not clear, is that they’re investigating my press release,” Anglin said.
“There’s something fishy here and they’re not telling the truth. Now they’ve changed the reason why they’re investigating,” he continued. “They’ve changed it from a press release that I sent out, to a citizen’s complaint that they haven’t yet informed me about. They informed the press, but not me.”
Anglin said he was informed of the public complaint late in the afternoon on Sept. 11 and was contacted by telephone approximately 40 minutes later by Elections Alberta.
In her e-mail, McKee-Jeske asked Anglin, who represents the Lavesta Area Group, if he had possession of a list of electors prepared by Elections Alberta in his possession and if it had been “used as a basis for mailing its flyer.”
Anglin, on the other hand, said finding out where voters list end up is not his responsibility.
“Why do I have to do that? Did they give the Lavesta Group a list? The answer is no. They have to track who they gave a list to. Now, if they said they gave a list to the Green Party, shouldn’t they be investigating the Green Party?” Anglin asked. “I never got the records and I complained to them about that. They’re investigating the wrong complaints here. What they’re investigating is something that’s fabricated and made up. There’s absolutely nothing in my press release and certainly in my flyer that indicates I am in possession of a list of electors. There’s nothing there.”
Another point of contention for Anglin is Election Alberta’s perceived lack of action in investigating some serious allegations including fraud and forgery, that he contends were committed by the former executive of the Alberta Green Party that he informed them of on Feb. 9 of this year.
“They’re not working on it because if they were working on it I would know about it. They’ve done absolutely nothing, and I know this. I’m in tune politically to what’s going on. They haven’t picked up the phone and made one call,” Anglin said. “They’ve got concrete proof of filing a false election document. They have cogent proof of the creation of false documents and they have not investigated.”
According to Westwater however, Elections Alberta has launched an investigation into the Alberta Green Party, despite the lengthy time period that has elapsed.
“They’re two different issues and the manner in which they will be handled is identical,” Westwater said of both the public complaint against Anglin and Anglin’s insistence that they launch an investigation into the Green Party. “When we get a complaint or an issue or something we’re investigating, we contact all the parties concerned and inform them of what we’ve been advised of, give them an opportunity to respond and provide information and follow-up and conclude the investigation as a result of that.”
Westwater said elections Alberta immediately launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from Anglin and said they are still collecting information and waiting for further details from the former executive of the party. He also suggested that some investigations take longer to compile than others depending on the case.
As for the complaint against him regarding the distribution of flyers critical of the Progressive Conservatives in general and the controversial Bill 50 in particular, Anglin said he is simply exercising his constitutional right to freedom of speech.
“That is the overriding issue here and it’s only about that issue; the right of freedom of speech and to participate in a democratic process,” he said. “I’m just exercising my rights and they’re stepping in and interfering.”
Investigations or otherwise, Anglin was thrilled with the results of the byelection, whether distributing his flyers had anything to do with it or not.
Paul Hinman of the Wildrose Alliance Party won the seat with 4,052 votes (37 per cent), followed by Liberal candidate Avalon Roberts who garnered 3,776 votes (34 per cent). Finishing a distant third was Dianne Colley-Urquart of the Progressive Conservatives who received 2,863 votes (26 per cent).
“I feel really good about the results of that election. We may have made a difference. I don’t know if we did, but I’m willing to take credit for it,” Anglin said. “We made them nervous. There wouldn’t have been a complaint like this if they weren’t nervous. They didn’t like us injecting this issue into the election, and we did. If it tipped the scale, all the better.”