[news] BC Liberals Taking Notice of Recall Campaigns

[resist admin]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Recall
From: "Bob Wilson" <BWilson at heu.org>
Date: Tue, March 11, 2003 11:30 am


Government paying attention

There's much to be said against the current recall campaigns in British
Columbia.  They clearly abuse the intent of the recall legislation.
They  create bitter divisions in communities.  They distract M.L.A.'s
and  ministers from their real duties of office.

But the campaigns have proven to be more effective at getting the
government's attention than other forms of political protest.  That's
why  they're unlikely to end anytime soon.

Far from being a crushing defeat that spelled the end of recall, the
near  miss at recalling Val Roddick gave other campaigns real hope of
success.  Delta South was one of the safest Liberal ridings in the
province.  In 2001 Ms. Roddick took 67% of the votes.  No political
strategist would choose her as a prime recall target.

The surprise wasn't that the campaign fell a couple thousand signatures
short.  The surprise was that it almost succeeded.  Think about what
could  happen in Nelson-Creston, where Blair Sufferdine got just 39% of
the votes  in 2001, or in Victoria-Beacon Hill, which Jeff Bray won by
only 35 votes,  taking 37% of the ballots.  Both are facing recall
campaigns.

The Liberal government is certainly thinking about it.  Premier Campbell
 may casually dismiss the recallers as disgruntled opponents who are
refighting the last election.  Behind that unconcerned facade, however,
the  government is mobilizing to fight recall with every weapon at its
disposal.

The Liberal campaign machine was slow to react to the Delta South
campaign.  The recall leader, Dr. John Bayne, looked like an amateur
totally out of his depth.  He was funding the campaign all by himself
and  had only a rag-tag batch of volunteers to help.  It was hard to
take him  seriously.

But Dr. Bayne outspent the Liberal machine--$21,500 to $9,000-- and
out-organized them as well.  The Liberal Party will assure that that
doesn't happen again.  Vigorous anti-recall organizations will spring up
to  defend any MLA under attack, and they will have both expertise and
money.

MLA's facing a recall petition will be given more chances to show off
for  their constituents.  Watch for backbenchers under the recall gun to
make  more aggressive "private member's" statements, to speak more often
on  government business, and to lob more soft questions about issues in
their  ridings at ministers during Question Period.

The recallers' real political clout is most evident in the government's
decision to tailor policies and reverse decisions to blunt recall
momentum.  For example, as the recall campaign against Ms. Roddick wore
on,  many of the cuts to the Delta Hospital were reversed.  And she was
front  and center as the restoration of services was announced.

The government plan to reduce inland ferry services and add tolls for
the  ride was protested throughout B.C.'s interior.  Nowhere was this
policy  more unpopular than in the riding of Nelson-Creston.  Once the
recall  campaign against Mr. Sufferdine got in gear, the government
reversed the  cuts and cancelled the tolls.

The announcement of highway construction in the so-called "heartland"
also  focused on recall-prone ridings.  The Kicking Horse Canyon is a
stretch of  the Trans-Canada Highway that badly needs rebuilding.  It
runs through the  riding of Columbia River-Revelstoke, where local MLA.
Wendy McMahon is  facing recall.  It was no surprise that the road got
special mention in  Premier Campbell's recent television address.

Making such recall-driven announcements poses a dilemma for the
government.  On the one hand, M.L.A.'s under attack desperately need to
show their constituents that they speak for them and can slow the
Juggernaut of government cuts.  On the other hand, such announcements
may  actually inspire more recall efforts, as voters in other ridings
see that  cuts can be reversed by making things hot for M.L.A.'s.

The dilemma will only deepen as the second year of service and staff
cuts  inspires further recall campaigns. One thing is clear: the recall
campaigns  have forced the government to pay far more attention to the
local effects  of provincial policies.  Recall petitioners may not
gather enough  signatures to throw M.L.A.'s out of office, but they will
affect government  policy.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Ramsey is a former MLA and Cabinet Minister.  He now teaches at CNC
 and is a Visiting Professor in the Political Science Program at UNBC.

Informal distribution of this column is encouraged.  To discuss
reprinting  it, please contact Paul Ramsey at
<mailto:ramsey at shaw.ca>ramsey at shaw.ca.