Letters, words and power

“B.C.’s chief electoral officer is blaming Fight HST supporters for sending him hundreds of hate-filled violent emails, some of which call for his slow, painful death.

Craig James said he has received more than 392 threatening messages since late November, when, as head of Elections B.C., he rejected the first application to recall Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Ida Chong because it exceeded a 200-word limit.”

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Elections+boss+gets+flood+vile+email/4095326/story.html#ixzz1Aqf4jusn

 

 

Gary E. at How Bad is the Record asks the question, if James was receiving these emails back in November, why did he wait until now to complain?  It only serves to feed the people’s distrust of this man and what he has done to our once proud, non-partisan, Elections BC.  That organisation had a proud history of administering Elections in this province, staffed by knowledgable, dedicated public servants, until Mr. James was annoited appointed as Acting Chief. 

 

The Recall Proponant for Oak Bay/Gordon Head, Mike Hayes released a Press Release I just read over at Gary E.’s.

 

Press Release

Contact: Mike Hayes, Recall Proponent  250-507-2204 Colin Nielsen Petition Coordinator  250-812-6593

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Recall Committee Decries Threats But Questions Timing 

Oak Bay-Gordon Head Recall Proponent, Mike Hayes, issued a statement, today, in reaction to published reports by Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Craig James, that he has received threatening and abusive email.”  Hayes said that the Recall Ida Chong Committee condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the actions of anyone using threats of violence and intimidation in our open and democratic society.

“There is no place in a civilized and civil society for that kind of behavior,” said Hayes. “It is difficult to find words that express my contempt for such abusive rhetoric.”

However, Hayes said that he questions the timing of the Press Release from the Acting Chief Electoral Officer.  “Why has he waited until the closing weeks of the Recall Petition Period to make a public statement about abusive emails and threats he received in November?” Hayes asked. “It would appear that he is trying to discredit the Fight-HST Campaign and the Recall, currently underway in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.”

Hayes pointed out that the Chief Electoral Officer is supposed to be an independent office of the Legislature.  “James does his Office, and the wonderful staff at Elections BC, no favours when he appears to be meddling in the democratic processes he is responsible for overseeing,” said Hayes. “It is, quite simple, wrong.”

Hayes said that the controversy over James actions around the 200 word limit issue, as well as the timing of his announcing RCMP investigations into seven people who signed the HST Petition, just before the launch or the Recall campaign, all show a lack of understanding of his role, at best, and outright interference, at worst.

“How can the people working on Recall, and all those citizens who have signed the Petition, have confidence that this “independent” office will fairly oversee this vitally important democratic process?” Hayes asked. “I would challenge Mr. James to disclose all the emails he has received and to show how many he has received since the Recall Petition was approved and the Campaign has been underway. If the bulk of the abusive communication was a reaction to his changing the word-count rules in November, then I think it would fair to question why he has chosen to make his disclosure at this late date.”

Dear Mr. James;
 
You have no mandate at Elections BC.  You were not legally appointed by an all party committee of the Legislature.  You were appointed by the lame duck Premier of a corrupt government.  You must step down from your position immediately.
 
Since your appointment you have consistantly made biased decisions against the will of the majority of citizens of BC.  You have wrongfully dismissed the one person who was qualified to replace Mr. Neufeld.  Every decision you have made regarding the Recall and Initiative Legislation has had the direct effect of supressing the democratic process in this province. 
 
You made biased rulings in favour of government with regards to Initiative Advertising (the website).
 
You fired the most senior qualified person who should have gotten your job.
 
You failed to obey the letter of the law with regards to forwarding the approved petition directly to the Standing Legislative Committee, improperly defering it to the courts.
 
You sent threatening and harrassing letters to citizens who signed the petition twice.
 
You failed to communicate the rationale for any of these decisions to the Electorate directly, instead releasing any information quietly to limited parties.
 
You have been improperly gadding about the globe, doing “Volunteer work” for the World Bank, trying to get them access to Parliaments, when you were being paid to caretake Elections BC.
 
You have now rejected the first Recall petition on petty and mean-spirited grounds. 
 
Sometimes Sir, the spirit of the law supercedes the letter of the law, but that just seems too sophisticated for you.  Mr. James, you shame the non-partisan tradition of your position, and you must resign immediately!