I really wonder why this story isn’t getting more attention, as from all the circumstances outlined in this piece it sounds just disgusting.
In a nutshell, Alan Riddell was the CPC candidate in Ottawa-South in 2004 but was blocked from running in 2005/06 in favour of another candidate. When that candidate dropped out, he began to seek the nomination again but was asked to step aside for sponsorship whistleblower Alan Cutler, who lost to Liberal David McGuinty.
Riddell said he was promised $150,000 by the CPC for his expenses in exchange for stepping aside for Cutler. The CPC, shockingly, admits they had agreed to a payout to Riddell, but since he had the temerity to go public the deal is off.
Now, Riddell is suing the CPC for breach of contract and things are getting nasty. The latest: now the CPC is trying to expel him from the party, calling him an embarrassment, while Riddell says the move is intimidation to get him to drop the lawsuit, and he has appealed directly to Stephen Harper to block his expulsion.
This whole thing is smelly for so many reasons. Blocking nominations, secret payoffs to people to drop out of races, trying to kick whistleblowers out of the party. Doesn’t quite fit the picture Conservatives like to paint of themselves, now does it?
JOAN BRYDEN, OTTAWA
(CP) - Former Conservative candidate Alan Riddell is appealing personally to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to stop the party from revoking his membership.
Riddell, who is embroiled in a nasty breach-of-contract dispute with the party, maintains the move to expel him is designed to intimidate him into dropping the lawsuit.
"The sole object . . . is to intimidate me, and others, from pursuing judicial redress through the Canadian court system simply because those against whom the redress is sought are powerful elected party officials on the national council, including yourself," Riddell wrote in a letter to Harper earlier this week.
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6 comments:
Thank you. It's refreshing to to finally get back into issues again.
Harper's been getting a free ride this summer from the liberal bloggers and it's time to pay attention to his "deeds".
hopefully some of the would-be leaders of the liberal party read your blog and tuck this story away somewhere safe. like a good bit of angus beef, this story will just get meatier with age. well done.
Unfortunately for you, it doesn't matter because the Liberals still suck, and none of your current leadership candidates will help the Liberal party to suck less.
:)
BCIT:
There was a pretty good discussion about this at the Dan Report last month. Check it out here...
''Riddell, who is embroiled in a nasty breach-of-contract dispute with the party''
If he is going to sue the party, why would he want to remain a member? Isn't that like divorcing your wife but wanting to live in the same house afterwards?
Nothing is stopping him from taking it to court, except maybe that HE is in breach of contract.
Libs can have him, please.
CON nomination candidates are being disqualified all over the country. Democracy is truly being subverted. Nomination challengers have been disqulaified from running against Nina Grewal, James Rajotte, Laurie Hawn, Mike Lake and Rob Anders.
Either there are a lot of direputable Tories or the party is controlling everything.
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