By Pepper Parr
December 8th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
There is trouble in paradise.
Jane McKenna who is reported to have won the Progressive Conservative nomination as the candidate for Burlington in the next provincial election, scheduled to be held on or before June 7, 2018. is having that nomination challenged,
A group led by Colin C.G. Pye has asked that:
Pursuant to Article 27.1 of the Constitution of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (“Constitution”) and Rule 21 of the Rules Governing Candidate Nominations (“Rules”), the undersigned Residents of the Electoral District of Burlington who support the Principles and Objects of the Party hereby protest and appeal the nomination of Jane McKenna as candidate for the Electoral District of Burlington on November 26, 2016.
Jane McKenna’s nomination win as the PC candidate for the provincial seat is being challenged.
There is all kinds of schedules attached to the request – which we willwork through and pass along as much as we can.
McKenna is reported to have won over Jane Michael by 41 votes. What has not been made public is the number of ballots cast. This is clearly a developing story.
In the request for a review the applicants state that:
As the nomination process and election has been tainted by numerous breaches of tl1e Nomination Rules and the Party Constitution, thus bringing the Party into disrepute, the Appellants request that
a. a hearing be held before tl1e Provincial Nomination Committee pursuant to Rule 21.7;
b. a new Nomination Process be held under supervision of the Board of Appeal pursuant to Rule 21.9., and;
c. pending the resolution of the hearing under Rule 21.7, Jane McKenna be enjoined from holding herself out as the duly nominated candidate for Burlington, and be further enjoined from conducting any campaigning or fundraising activity as the nominated candidate for Burlington.
The meeting got a little rowdy – check out the video below.
When there is an official election the result should be made public when the winner is announced….not just to certain people….all voters! In any election voters have a right to here the results.
I was there, standing at the back of the room. I couldn’t believe what I saw. The oldest people in the room were the ones doing all the heckling and name calling!
The “older gentlemen” Erin refers to was the worst, and on top of that, it was his wife who rushed the podium. The video does not tell all. I wish I had my phone on recording it.
All of this when the chair of the meeting was trying to introduce the winner, Jane McKenna who won the nomination and had just been endorsed by the other Jane.
Those who tried to shut the meeting down, in the manner we all witnessed, should not be allowed back!
Sean M.
I am the “older gentleman” concerned. I was asking that the vote count be announced. The younger man rushing me was a former Party President, Ken Zeiss, and now chair of the Ontario-wide nomination process.
I don’t know Sean M. who the Hell you are or how you suggest that the other person was my wife. Do I know you? Do you know me?
This out-of-control man challenged me to step outside to settle the matter. Very manly challenging a 77-year-old recent cancer survivor to step outside. I would say what a coward. And this is what represents the CPO?
Both the Chairman of the meeting and a PCO Board member came to me afterwards and apologized. I was also given the vote count.
The man who went around yelling when crazy to the older gentleman. The Party should be ashamed that they allowed this young man to yell at the older fellow.
If Brown keeps this up with rigging the nominations then he will have a lot to be used against him in 2018.
The Party should not be ashamed, I mean the other candidate. The Party has no control over the way others act.
I think Brown should tighten up the nomination rules to avoid any bad media coverage for the Party.
I think releasing numbers and results should be done without any members of the community in the room. Just those who are part of the candidates teams and those who are part of the Party riding committee or Party employees.
This is embarrassing and precisely the kind of nonsense that caused me to rip up my Burlington PC membership card in 2012. Sorry to say it but the Burlington Provincial PC Riding Association is incestuous, and this does not reflect well on the Party, the Leader or the local candidates.
By the way: why is everyone in such a mad hurry to have a nomination meeting? The election, according to Premier Wynne, won’t be held until June 7, 2018. Many prospective candidates may not be in a position to make up their minds on whether to run until later next year.
Follow the money.
As of January 1, 2017, new fundraising rules in Ontario will prohibit corporate donations, cap individual donations in non-election years to $1,200.00 ($3,600.00 in election years) and prohibit sitting MPPs and party nominees from attending fundraisers.
The appeal hearing–if one can could call it that–had to be gotten out of the way on a Saturday night so as not to spoil Jane McKenna’s $500.00 a head fundraiser the following Monday.
This absolutely should be challenged!
all of this needs to be looked at and be done in a fair way.
Jane Michael is a progressive candidate and can win Burlington back. She proved that by the number of new members to the party she signed up and the youth she brought out. Jane McKenna is part of the ‘old guard’ and clearly won because of being a friend of Patrick Brown (she worked on his campaign) not because that is whom Burlington wants. If Patrick Brown was worried Michael would be anti LGBTQ he is wrong. She is very supportive of the community.
I agree something sure doesn’t smell right here. I thought this kind of behaviour only happened in third world countries. Someone needs to be held accountable for this to assure this kind of garbage doesn’t happen in the future.
Smells like election fraud to me