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Pity the Naked Candidate

If you want to run for office, get ready for heavy vetting.

By Andrew MacLeod, 30 Mar 2009, TheTyee.ca

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'You have no secrets.'

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Officials with the provincial NDP and Liberal Parties are well aware that if they fail to vet their candidates thoroughly, their opponents will do it for them.

"My assumption is the Liberals have a team of people sequestered in some basement," said Jeff Fox, president of the NDP, talking about how he approaches checking out candidates.

With the election set for May 12, but not yet officially called, already the party's vetting processes are getting tested. Twice last week the Liberals raised old quotes to embarrass NDP candidates, and the Liberals earlier lost a candidate after details of his history emerged.

The NDP in particular had a reminder of the importance of background checks in the federal election when they lost three candidates, including Dana Larsen who was recorded on video driving while stoned.

Last week Mable Elmore was chosen as the NDP candidate for the provincial election in Vancouver-Kensington at a nomination meeting. The day after the meeting a five-year-old interview emerged where she referred to battling "vocal Zionists" in the bus drivers' union.

While there are those who will defend Elmore's use of the word, normally understood to refer to someone who believes Israel should exist as a Jewish state, NDP leader Carole James is not one of them.

"The party informed me this morning they had talked to our candidate and she's issued an apology," she said. "I'm satisfied with the apology. She should have known, yes. Were the comments offensive, yes." James added she was angry the apology wasn't issued sooner.

More substantial process

James being apparently blindsided by the issue raised questions about the NDP's vetting process. Asked how much confidence she had in the process, she said, "I'll be talking to the party about that."

There is a process in place, she said. "People talk about the kinds of things they've been involved in, the experience they've been involved in and you can talk to the party about other specifics." She believes the party does an Internet search for potentially embarrassing subjects, she said.

"Coming out of the federal election we understood we needed a more substantial process," said NDP president Fox.

Candidates fill out a long questionnaire covering things like where they live, what they own, their financial history and any potential criminal matters. "It's almost a small book," he said. The party then goes about verifying what the candidate has told them.

Liberals burned in Okanagan

The Liberal Party goes through a "pretty thorough" process too, said B.C. Liberal communications director Chad Peterson. People apply for a nomination and complete an "exhaustive" questionnaire before the party's election readiness committee can approve them.

The questionnaire looks at their personal and professional background, he said, "Just so we're all on the same page on where they come from."

The party did have one candidate, Joe Cardoso, whose candidacy in Okanagan-Similkameen was rescinded after it was discovered he'd written a letter to a newspaper that was critical of Liberal leader Gordon Campbell. He has since become the Conservative candidate in the constituency.

"He failed to disclose information that was pertinent on his candidate questionnaire," said Peterson.

"This candidate nomination process has been fairly smooth for us so far," he said. "I can say we hold our candidates to a very high calibre. That's something the public expects of us and something we expect of ourselves."

In the case of Elmore, the NDP's Fox said, the party should have addressed the issue ahead of the nomination meeting. "We were aware she had made comments, yes," he said. "We should have had greater sensitivity to that old quote."

Some people are offended by Elmore's use of the word "Zionist," he said. "It depends on the audience. Clearly there are some sensitivities attached to it or we wouldn't have had Monday [March 23] morning."

'You have no secrets'

"They vet you extremely," said Kathleen Stephany, the NDP candidate in Langley. "You have no secrets... They want to vet anything that could potentially be bad for you personally or for the party."

Stephany passed the vetting process, but that didn't inoculate her against attacks.

Liberal communications staff circulated an old Tyee story that included a quote Stephany denies having said. She claims the story incorrectly had her as saying she thinks abortions should not be paid for by the public. (The source of the quotes stands by them, the Tyee reported last week.)

"I have to admit I was really troubled by them shopping that story around," said Fox. "It was complete bullshit. They were attempting to discredit a sincere individual."

Stephany had acknowledged to the party that she had views on abortion that were not consistent with the party's position, he said, but her reasons for getting involved in politics do not include wanting to change abortion laws or funding.

"We are hoping to attract a diverse range of people," he said. That means people from many different walks of life, with a variety of views on various issues. "Quite frankly I'm damn proud of that."

The idea that every candidate has to mirror the leader is strange, he said. "I find that repugnant. If all we were interested in was attracting people who think exactly like us, I wouldn't vote for us. I mean, come on."

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Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee's Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. You can reach him here.

21 Comments:

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  • Criminoboy

    3 years ago

    Who's Offended?

    "While there are those who will defend Elmore's use of the word... NDP leader Carole James is not one of them."

    Sorry Andrew, but if you're planning on leaving it at this, then I'll have to question your integrity on this one.

    This is almost like saying there are those who believe the sun revolves around the earth, but James is not one of them, and then leaving it at that.

    James requested that Elmore make an "official apology" through the Canadian Jewish Congress. The CJCs website has references to its support for Zionism in Canada, as well as links to websites such as the Zionist Organization of America and the World Zionist Organization.

    You make it sound as though there IS another definition of Zionism beyond a movement supporting Israel as a Jewish state.

    The most obvious questions that have yet to be presented to Ms. James include: is there a particular definition of Zionism to which she is referring, and from whom does this definition derive? And; is she rebuking Elmore BECAUSE of her apparent opposition to a Jewish state, and is it therefore her party's policy that its candidates must support a Jewish homeland? If so, does the provincial NDP oppose Palestinian claims to some, or all of the current state of Israel?

    These seem to be questions that should naturally flow from the preceding events - why haven't they?

  • Criminoboy

    3 years ago

    Re: Who's Offended

    Would probably have worked better if I wrote: This is almost like saying there are those who believe the EARTH revolves around the SUN.

  • alive

    3 years ago

    Yeah , but

    Just wondering: is it offensive to have your own perception of world issues?

    As I see it no party has an official line on every aspect of life, and nor should they.

    Personally I would be more concerned with candidates who have, say a religious bent that they feel they have to pursue while in office.

    There must be thousands of voters who have to choose between parties to find the one that is more closely representing their personal view, so why should every candidate be so absolutely correct in regard to party policy?

    If Carole James is so concerned about having candidates that appeal to voters, she shoul abolish her quest for female candidates to the exclusion of a possible better male candidate.

  • Frank

    3 years ago

    Religion

    Does Campbell believe in the Christian God? Does he believe that's who created the earth and the planets etc? Or does he play on both sides of the fence and claim he believes in a unifying theory that rolls God, the big bang and evolution into one?

    Wouldn't his answer be more newsworthy than what an NDP candidate that may or may not get elected believes about whether a religous sect has the right to go live on someone else's land and either boot out or rule over the previous citizens?

    Whether someone likes or dislikes Zionists has no bearing on BC politics.

  • Andrew MacLeod

    3 years ago

    Criminoboy

    My aim was to acknowledge the controversy around Carole James' rebuke of Mable Elmore without rehashing it. That controversy is already being well explored, in my opinion, by Terry Glavin here:

    http://transmontanus.blogspot.com/2009/03/attack-of-giant-zionist-bus-drivers.html

    By Charlie Smith here:

    http://www.straight.com/article-209187/mable-elmore-controversy-over-zionism-truly-embarrassing?#

    And here:

    http://www.straight.com/article-210177/my-response-vaughn-palmer-and-keith-baldrey?#

    And by Derrick O'Keefe here:

    http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/rabble-staff/sad-little-episode-bc-politics

    Whether one agrees with James and the NDP or not, James said she felt let down by the vetting process. It struck me as interesting to take a closer look at that process, especially given the NDP's experience in the federal election.

  • Criminoboy

    3 years ago

    Andrew

    Fair enough - but I'm still dizzy from the fact that the press fanned the flames on this issue, yet nobody bothered to have James clarify why she was throwing her subordinate under a bus.

    Just to be clear though, when I 'questioned your integrity' - I only meant that I may have detected a wobble in your brilliant shine.

  • G West

    3 years ago

    'subordinate'???

    Seems to me that's a little harsh - now if you'd said it about CEO Campbell....

    The NDP is pretty much still run by a committee - it's the Campbell Government where all the decisions - large and small - are made by the CEO.

    Just another example of the Liberals doing whatever's necessary to cling to power.

    Perhaps we could look again at the Premier's conviction for drunk driving - after all, he was premier when that happened wasn't he? - Mabel Elmore was just a simple bus driver when she allegedly miss-spoke herself.

    Now who's naked?

  • hg

    3 years ago

    Vetting

    Just curious. Is the Liberal Party vetting for impaired driving convictions, or do they nominate any old drunk, as long as he or she spouts the party line?

  • Anne Roberts

    3 years ago

    Criminoboy

    What bothers me about the news coverage is that most reporters seemed to think their jobs well-done by simply relaying what happened at the news conference where Carol James claimed that using the word Zionist is unacceptable and offensive. But, surely, before going to air or print, reporters have a responsibility to take out a dictionary, or interview knowledgeable sources, to find out what the word Zionism means. They would also challenge Carol James to find out what exactly she finds so unacceptable and offensive about the term. And ask her why she is demanding an apology. If that legwork had been done, the story would likely have shifted to one that exposed Carol James conducting a witchhunt. This incident is disturbing to think about because it is reminiscent of the way the news media covered US Senator Joe McCarthy's accusations in the 1950s that people were communists. Many lives were destroyed because the media then did nothing more than repeat McCarthy's accusations.

  • reallife

    3 years ago

    We get what we deserve

    Anyone ever wonder why we do not get a better qualified field of candidates for political office? The media and special interest groups' fixation on candidates' minor indiscretions is enough to scare off all but the most egocentric. The recent striking down of the law regarding third party advertising will add to the problem.

  • Sharon-Rose

    3 years ago

    Pity the naked candidate

    I think the reason Carol James felt so "exposed" by the outrageous news that an NDP candidate could actually use a bad word like "zionist" is because nobody expected Mable Elmore to win that nomination and so whatever she'd said or not said wasn't vetted. The powers-that-were in that riding had anointed Jinny Sims who lost, surprisingly, by a fairly substantial margin. But so certain was the belief that Jinny would win the nomination that Jim Sinclair declared in advance (to the BCTF Annual General Meeting) that she was soon to be the next MLA for Kensington.

    Carole James' response illustrates the sad truth that the current NDP's focus, and I would say its sole focus, is not to pursue social justice issues but to win elections. However, the real tragedy is Mable's response. She had a golden opportunity to inform and educate, but did neither.

  • seth

    3 years ago

    jinny sims and Greenies for Gordo

    If some wacko radical can seize an NDP nomination from under a most favored one by stacking a meeting with supporters then why the hell are the Greenies not taking over the NDP riding by riding instead of trying to split the vote for the Liberals.

    Can it be the Greenies are simply Gordo's creation designed simply to split the vote?

  • alive

    3 years ago

    Who elect the candidates?

    I think that the liberal party has demonstrated what happens when candidates are vetted as to their obedience to the party line; the result is a collection of YES-candidates who do not dare to question anything coming from the top.

    The irony is that that party-line can change completely when a new leader is annointed, and suddenly the YES people have to swear allegiance to the new leaders ideas.

    How refreshing it would be if individual candidates were allowed to think for themselves, and actually represent the people who elected them!

  • morechatter

    3 years ago

    Who is in the Zone

    Sounds like someone is looking to make a war out of words and its funny coming from those who are advent followers of peace as they wish for better understandings between a war torn people. So what ever, who ever, Zone in on this a better world where people communicate their differences without immediately taking offense especially when its what they are all about.

  • morechatter

    3 years ago

    What do you say?

    When I tell you what you said hurt my feeling?
    Go away?
    I'm sorry?
    What if its your kid?
    You get them to say they are sorry as they ment no offence as we are a politie society.
    Under the bus or just out of the zone?
    Its works the same way but the difference is the race is on and despite this being an none issue from 2004 the peace loving journalist has decided to be terribly offended just prior to the 2009 provincial election and takes it up in the media. And here I'm offended because journalists find their way into the minds of unsuspecting readers as they zone in on anger and hate. A losing battle you would think but not in BC its what the news is made of.

  • Jeffrey J.

    3 years ago

    Clarity and the Israel Lobby

    No sector of North American politics, including our own little part of the world in BC, is immune from the sweeping rhetoric involving Israel and the Middle East.

    For the curious intellectual, there is material to understand this volatile debate. Two excellent books: The Israel Lobby, by Jewish author John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. The second is The Politics of Anti-Semitism, a collection of essays by both Jewish and non-Jewish writers.

    There are a growing number of Jewish groups who are denouncing the conflation of criticizing right wing Israeli policies with anti-semitism. As philosopher Michael Neumann makes plain, the two concepts are wholly distinct. Deliberately confusing the two is illogical and disingenuous.

    Additional writers exemplifying the Jewish rejection of Isreali right wing neocon policies abound: Prof. Chomsky; Naomi Klein; senior Israeli statesman Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom; Avi Lewis; the list goes on.

    The sooner people can articulate the distinction between rejecting right wing Israeli military policy vs anti semitism, the faster will be the demise of these fake allegations.

    This is a critical issue facing civil society.

  • NicS

    3 years ago

    Getting elected despite the liberal's spin

    I cannot claim to know exactly why Carol James had Elmore apologize, but anyone that thinks that this episode involves any actual integrity is sadly mistaken. Having said that, it must also be said that this was about getting elected.

    It was not the NDP that brought up Elmore's "zionist" remark, it was the Liberals and it was the media that ran with the story that forced the NDP into damage control. Of course Elmore should not have had to apologize, but this has been about "election time" politics and the gloves are off.

    It is amazing how many left leaning pundits there are who have fallen into the trap set for them by Gordon Campbell's high priced spin masters. Time for TheTyee to run some articles on PolySci. 101 and how the Liberals are all about spin and no substance.

  • freebear

    3 years ago

    We get what we vet for!!!!

    So remember to mark an 'x' by your favourite carboard, vetted, party sheep this May!

  • PeteL

    3 years ago

    Wailing Wall

    Carole James crying about Mable. I think poster Sharon-rose pretty much nails it down for us. Jinny was the expected winner in this contest. She was the establishment candidate. James had a petulent frenzy.

    But why wouldn't Mable have garnered support for the party? She has been a workhorse for the NDP and the Fed for years. She has done all the hard work making the party and the Fed look good along the way. Having Mable work on your issue is like having a room full of vlounteers.

    So in the end this is the thanks she gets. The defacto leader throws the candidate under the bus. Fitting?

    I'm sure the likes of Palmer, Baldrey and Smyth with continue to use Elmore like a club to beat the NDP for the next 45 days. It will be surprising if she wins the riding after being left hung out to dry by a dimwitted leader.

    I hate to suggest what such a strong person as she is might have done. But my sense is she probably should have resigned. At least her own integrity would have been in tact and this would have probably helped the party to which she has devoted so much energy

    Goodness Carole. Or as Chuck Berry so eloquently put it ... Oh Carole.

    The NDP can have my vote, but my time and money will remain in my back pocket, this time, for the first time in 20 years.

  • Sharon-Rose

    3 years ago

    More on Mable

    I agree with much of what Petel has said but I don't believe Mable should have resigned. In my life's work I have aways advised people never to resign; if to comes to that, force them to fire you. It was NDP leader Carol James who created the problem; Mable resolved it for her by issuing an apology. Instead, I think she should have apologised for the fact that the media had misunderstood her and explained just what it was they didn't understand. Over to Carol. And while I think Mable misjudged the situation, I won't criticize her. I agree she is an amazing worker and organizer but is one who is still finding her way (to the extent that one can in a tank of barracudas).

  • Rod Smelser

    3 years ago

    A question for Andrew MacLeod

    With regards to either Elmore or Stephany, what role in the "revelations" phase of the controversy was played by Brad Zubyk? For which provincial team is he working, the BC Liberals or the BC NDP? And what is his rate of pay, and what was his rate of pay when he was working for the Liberal Party of Canada last fall?

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