unimaginative2
Senior Member
Tory dissenters 'idiots, turds'
Glen McGregor, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, September 16, 2008
OTTAWA -- Workers on the campaign of a Conservative MP who declined to participate in the in-and-out advertising scheme in the 2006 election were denounced as "idiots" and a "bunch of turds" by senior party officials, who wanted to "put the fear of God" into them for not taking part in the contentious TV and radio purchases.
Graphic: Inside the 'in and out' scheme
The emails obtained by the Citizen show how the campaign of MP Dave MacKenzie in the Ontario riding of Oxford expressed concern about the advertising purchases that would later come under investigation by Elections Canada.
Mr. MacKenzie's campaign manager, Bruce Richards, said in one email that the plan for the campaign to contribute $10,000 to the media buys "has caused some concern internally."
Mr. Richards is the former chief of police in Ingersoll, Ontario.
The party's regional organizer for South Western Ontario wrote back to assure Mr. Richards the plan was legitimate. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with this," John Bracken said in his email. Mr. Richards replied that the Oxford campaign didn't have enough space under its local spending limit to take on the extra $10,000 expense limit, anyway.
At the same time, Mr. Bracken was emailing with Michael Donison, the Conservative Party's national director, who was quarterbacking the plan to bill local ridings for so-called regional media buys.
"These idiots in Oxford have now told me they don't have room for the $10K," Mr. Bracken wrote. "These people really take the cake."
Mr. Donison wrote back: "What a bunch of turds - this is not going to cost them a cent nor give them a moment of cash flow problem and in fact will allow them $6,000 more in their reimbursement and they still try to wiggle out!"
Under elections law, candidates who get 10 per cent of the vote qualify for taxpayer-funded rebates of 60 per cent of their expenses.
"John - like I always say, we are not a truly organized and disciplined political party."
The correspondence between the two Tory officials were produced in relation to the legal dispute between the Conservative Party and Elections Canada but have yet to be filed into the court record.
Elections Canada alleges that the party's national campaign transferred $1.3 million in advertising costs to local candidate campaigns, in order to stay below its $18.3 million campaign spending limit.
The agency says the party wire-transferred money to the campaigns, then moved it back to the party shortly after in the form of advertising expenses billed to the candidates.
The party is suing the agency over its position. Commissioner of Elections William Corbett is conducting a separate investigation of the in-and-out that could result in charges under the Elections Act. Investigators working for Mr. Corbett raided Conservative Party headquarters in Ottawa in April.
At the beginning of the current campaign, Elections Canada warned all parties that it is illegal to transfer expenses from a national campaign to candidate campaigns.
In the emails, Mr. Donison advises Mr. Bracken to attempt to find another campaign to take on the $10,000 cost, but adds, "the fear of God needs to be put into these Oxford people and they need to be told that they may get billed for this and that it will (sic) their election expense under the Act."
Mr. Bracken writes back to say he's found a solution for "the Oxford betrayal" --- the campaign of Conservative Pat Davidson in the riding of Sarnia Lambton could absorb the $10,000 cost. But he asks Mr. Donison to "do me a favour Mike and have the heavies from Ottawa come down like a ton of brick on BRUCE RICHARDS."
Mr. Richard's candidate, Mr. MacKenzie, was re-elected in Oxford and was chosen as parliamentary secretary to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.
Reached yesterday, Mr. Richards said he is not working on Mr. MacKenzie's campaign this year. He was unaware of the strong language used by the party officials to describe his campaign. The decision not to participate in the in-and-out was made by Mr. MacKenzie, he said.
Mr. Donison left the party's national office to become a senior policy advisor to Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan, and is not playing a role in the current election campaign. Neither Mr. Donison nor Mr. Bracken could be reached yesterday.
Glen McGregor can be reached at gmcgregor@thecitizen.canwest.com
Glen McGregor, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, September 16, 2008
OTTAWA -- Workers on the campaign of a Conservative MP who declined to participate in the in-and-out advertising scheme in the 2006 election were denounced as "idiots" and a "bunch of turds" by senior party officials, who wanted to "put the fear of God" into them for not taking part in the contentious TV and radio purchases.
Graphic: Inside the 'in and out' scheme
The emails obtained by the Citizen show how the campaign of MP Dave MacKenzie in the Ontario riding of Oxford expressed concern about the advertising purchases that would later come under investigation by Elections Canada.
Mr. MacKenzie's campaign manager, Bruce Richards, said in one email that the plan for the campaign to contribute $10,000 to the media buys "has caused some concern internally."
Mr. Richards is the former chief of police in Ingersoll, Ontario.
The party's regional organizer for South Western Ontario wrote back to assure Mr. Richards the plan was legitimate. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with this," John Bracken said in his email. Mr. Richards replied that the Oxford campaign didn't have enough space under its local spending limit to take on the extra $10,000 expense limit, anyway.
At the same time, Mr. Bracken was emailing with Michael Donison, the Conservative Party's national director, who was quarterbacking the plan to bill local ridings for so-called regional media buys.
"These idiots in Oxford have now told me they don't have room for the $10K," Mr. Bracken wrote. "These people really take the cake."
Mr. Donison wrote back: "What a bunch of turds - this is not going to cost them a cent nor give them a moment of cash flow problem and in fact will allow them $6,000 more in their reimbursement and they still try to wiggle out!"
Under elections law, candidates who get 10 per cent of the vote qualify for taxpayer-funded rebates of 60 per cent of their expenses.
"John - like I always say, we are not a truly organized and disciplined political party."
The correspondence between the two Tory officials were produced in relation to the legal dispute between the Conservative Party and Elections Canada but have yet to be filed into the court record.
Elections Canada alleges that the party's national campaign transferred $1.3 million in advertising costs to local candidate campaigns, in order to stay below its $18.3 million campaign spending limit.
The agency says the party wire-transferred money to the campaigns, then moved it back to the party shortly after in the form of advertising expenses billed to the candidates.
The party is suing the agency over its position. Commissioner of Elections William Corbett is conducting a separate investigation of the in-and-out that could result in charges under the Elections Act. Investigators working for Mr. Corbett raided Conservative Party headquarters in Ottawa in April.
At the beginning of the current campaign, Elections Canada warned all parties that it is illegal to transfer expenses from a national campaign to candidate campaigns.
In the emails, Mr. Donison advises Mr. Bracken to attempt to find another campaign to take on the $10,000 cost, but adds, "the fear of God needs to be put into these Oxford people and they need to be told that they may get billed for this and that it will (sic) their election expense under the Act."
Mr. Bracken writes back to say he's found a solution for "the Oxford betrayal" --- the campaign of Conservative Pat Davidson in the riding of Sarnia Lambton could absorb the $10,000 cost. But he asks Mr. Donison to "do me a favour Mike and have the heavies from Ottawa come down like a ton of brick on BRUCE RICHARDS."
Mr. Richard's candidate, Mr. MacKenzie, was re-elected in Oxford and was chosen as parliamentary secretary to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.
Reached yesterday, Mr. Richards said he is not working on Mr. MacKenzie's campaign this year. He was unaware of the strong language used by the party officials to describe his campaign. The decision not to participate in the in-and-out was made by Mr. MacKenzie, he said.
Mr. Donison left the party's national office to become a senior policy advisor to Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan, and is not playing a role in the current election campaign. Neither Mr. Donison nor Mr. Bracken could be reached yesterday.
Glen McGregor can be reached at gmcgregor@thecitizen.canwest.com
