I’ve tried to hold my tongue through David Bertschi’s
dramatic performances through the nomination process, but after his conduct at
the Ottawa-Orleans nomination on the weekend, enough is enough.
I’m the first person to be up in arms with regards to
nomination shenanigans or interference from the centre. I’m a supporter of open
nominations – it was a key part of Deborah Coyne’s democratic reform platform
during the leadership campaign, and I was glad to see Justin Trudeau adopt a
similar position shortly after we released ours.
I think everyone – if they’re being honest with themselves
anyway – knew that there would always be an asterix for open nominations when
the pledge was reaffirmed by the leader for this nomination cycle. A certain
threshold of rules would need to be met by all candidates seeking a nomination,
from a commitment to Liberal values (see supporting the right to choose) to a
background check, and so on.
For the former leadership candidates seeking a nomination (including
from 2006) there were additional rules. I have some insight into this, as I
managed Deborah’s leadership campaign. Those carrying leadership debt were
required to submit a debt repayment plan and schedule, and report regularly on
their progress to the party. They were informed that their greenlighting was
provisional, and could be revoked at any time if they didn’t maintain
satisfactory progress.
This applied to all leadership candidates carrying
leadership debt from recent campaigns, from Coyne and Bertschi and George
Takach, to caucus members like Marc Garneau and Hedy Fry. The rules were clear
and known to all.
The rules were also clear during the leadership campaign
with regards to the amount of debt campaigns were allowed to carry, both in
loans and in accounts payable. A financial filing was due regularly to the
party for compliance purposes and, if the levels were violated, a range of
sanctions were available, up to and including expulsion from the leadership
race. Again, the rules were clear and known to all.
And it appears to me that Mr. Bertschi was unable or
unwilling to follow rules, whether during the leadership campaign or during the
nomination process.
Bertschi withdrew from the leadership campaign in a
flourish, after hemorrhaging staff and volunteers, just before he was facing
sanction from the party and possible expulsion from the race for violating
those debt limits – post-race filings with Elections Canada confirm his
non-compliance. This after making a virtue of having promised a debt-free campaign.
Nevertheless, he was provisionally green-lit by the party to
seek the nomination in Ottawa-Orleans. Like every other leadership candidate
carrying debt, he had to submit and follow a repayment plan. And once again, he
couldn’t follow the rules. And so he faced the consequences.
Now, the current underlying all of this, of course, is the
party centre’s favoured candidate for Ottawa-Orleans, Andrew Leslie – the former
general was acclaimed this weekend following Bertschi’s expulsion.
Let’s be frank. Did the powers that be want Leslie?
Obviously. Were they going to use the levers available to them to help make
that happen? Most definitely.
Here’s the thing, though: Bertschi made it easy on them. No
shenanigans were necessary. By failing to comply with the clearly stated rules,
rules which applied to all (and the others managed to comply with), Bertschi
made it easy for the party to remove him from the race completely by the book.
No shenanigans were necessary, as Bertschi was the author of his own demise.
I might still be able to muster a measure of sympathy for
him – being denied a dream you’ve long worked for is incredibly difficult –
were it not for the arrogance with which he has conducted himself through this
process. Attacking other Liberals, threatening lawsuits, his supporters disrupting meetings, heckling, disrespecting the Canadian flag. Bertschi isn’t about the
Liberal Party; he’s about David Bertschi. And I have no time for people like
that.
If Bertschi had followed the rules, he would have challenged
Leslie this past weekend, and who knows what would have happened. The party’s
pick doesn’t always win – see Don Valley North. Superior organization will take
the day. Instead, he was the author of his own demise, and seems determined to
light the bridge aflame behind him.
Don’t let the door, etc.
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