While the race tightens in the lead-up to next Tuesday's provincial general election, questions are being raised about last year's Port-Moody-Coquitlam byelection and the work of the taxpayer-funded Port Moody Swing-Riding Group in trying to win the riding for the BC Liberals.
A series of emails leaked to media via BC NDP headquarters this week shows a group of BC Liberal caucus members - including Premier Christy Clark's then deputy chief of staff, Kim Haakstad - met in an office at the B.C. legislature to discuss ways to win the riding for the BC Liberals beginning in September 2011.
The group was lead by Dave Ritchie, who also involved in the ethnic outreach plan to engage more multicultural voters that was the subject of a probe in March.
BC NDP candidate Joe Trasolini - who won that byelection over BC Liberal candidate Dennis Marsden and BC Conservatives' Christine Clarke - said he was disappointed to learn of the political work by a group of staffers whose salaries are paid for with taxpayers' dollars.
"This is really shocking," Trasolini said yesterday. "The byelection was a lot of hard work and there was a dream team, working with taxpayers' dollars, to kind of get the very important byelection to go the BC Liberals' way."
Although the byelection to replace MLA Iain Black, who resigned to take a job with the Vancouver Board of Trade, wasn't called until March 2012, the BC Liberal insiders appeared to be active through the fall, although it is unclear what activities they were engaged in.
Emails suggest the group was interested in sharing information about the addition of a child care centre in a new middle school now under construction in Anmore. The email notes that the Ministry of Education was working with the school district to expedite the project, which had been held up for legal reasons even though money had had been set aside for construction.
The emails also suggest the group was having trouble finding time to meet, with the usual locale being Room 247 in the legislature, and wanted to push more caucus events in the riding to raise awareness. They also referenced establishment of a speakers bureau of BC Liberal MLAs and cabinet ministers.
Trasolini says using government caucus staffers to push the BC Liberal agenda in the lead-up to the byelection is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars. The work these individuals are supposed to do is to help MLAs prepare for legislative sessions and question period, as well as deal with issues brought up by constituents, he said.
But a spokesperson for the BC Liberal Party disagrees, arguing that both parties employ caucus workers who get involved in political activities.
Sam Oliphant said the release of the emails is part of a BC NDP effort to distract people from important election issues, such as the economy, and are an old news story that was raised by a Vancouver newspaper in March.
"This is the sort of stuff that caucus employees do," Oliphant said. "They do political work and that happens on both sides."
He also said that more people need to understand the difference between the roles of government caucus employees and public servants who work elsewhere in government, such as employees of different ministries.
Trasolini is running against BC Liberal candidate Linda Reimer, as well as Green Party candidate Billie Helps in the provincial election. Advance polling is underway and election day is next Tuesday, May 14.
