Friday, August 04, 2017

This Fundraising Thing Is A Problem.

FriendsDon'tLetFriendsDriveDrunk
IntoABigMoneyFundraisingDitchVille


From Lindsay Kines in the VTC

...The NDP is billing the event as the “Leader’s Golf Tournament” and inviting people to join (Premier John) Horgan and “MLA Rob Fleming” for a round of golf and a dinner reception on Thursday, Aug. 24.

The NDP is charging $2,000 for a foursome of golfers and confirmed Thursday that the event will operate under “existing rules” — meaning that corporations and unions are free to buy tickets...

{snip}

...Fleming said the government will follow through on its promise to prohibit union and corporate donations once the legislature resumes sitting in September.

“We’re going to ban them at the first legislative opportunity and that’s in the fall,” he said.

In the meantime, the golf tournament will operate under existing rules, he said.

“I’ve had golf tournaments for years. I think this is the 10th annual. The price is the same. The time of year is the same, and we’ll continue to have golf and other fundraising events under the new rules because they’re fun and they’re open to the public.”

A financial report on the Elections B.C. website shows that the NDP charged $500 a ticket for a Leader’s Tournament last September, pulling in $32,000 from organizations. Once costs and other sales were tabulated, the NDP made nearly $22,000...




Back in the run-up to the last election campaign I was happy to defend the need for Dippers to go after big money so that they wouldn't be forced to battle the corporate Wizards of Clarklandia with one hand tied behind their backs.

But now, well...

I'm sorry but stuff like this golf tournament thing just can't stand.

Because Mr. Fleming is no longer just 'an MLA'.

Instead, he is now the Minister of Education and his boss is the Premier.

Thus, I can only conclude that this is straight-up cash for access.

****

Look.

The Dippers needn't worry about the screamers and the shillophants from the various and assorted sundry BCL Klout Klub bunkers who will seize on this.

As for Andrew Weaver and the Greens? Well, that might be of some concern.

But I think the folks they should really worry about are individual people like me.

Individuals that will actually give the Dippers a big advantage, both donor number and dollar wise, once the big money is out of it.

Personally, I'm ready and waiting to give the maximum an individual can give once the legislation Mr. Eby is currently crafting is in place.

So get it done.

And in the meantime stop with the silly fundraisers that will bring in some measly $20 to  $30K at the price of your/our integrity.

OK?


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26 comments:

e. a. f. said...

$2K a ticket is a tad much. tickets at $500 is fine, its reasonable. lots of people can afford that, but that $2K isn't what even a lot of NDP members can afford.

RossK said...

eaf--

Not the price that's really bugging me.

It's the principle.


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Anonymous said...


RossK this needed to be said, and said plainly.

Who's idea was this anyway? I'm afraid to ask who's golf course this is...

The NDP cannot be ignored by the MSM now that they are Government, why give them anything to bite on? There's no need to have a hefty war-chest for advertising. Donald Trump won the Elelection because the MSM could not look away as he made the news. Want to make the news? Launch an Independent Inquiry into corruption, and misappropriation of funs.

What the NDP needs IS votes when an election is called, and this is counter-productive.

Frankly, I find it embarrassing. This is not what I want my Party to do, and I've given our Party way more in donations than I spent on fun stuff for myself.

RossK said...

Thanks Anon-Above--

Let's see if there is a response.

I note that quite a few Dipper supporters are voicing their disagreement on the Twittmachine.

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Anonymous said...

SH: I just posted @ 12:28, in my flurry to express how WRONG this is, forgot to ID myself.

…and by the way, Chris Walker Daybreak South has been following the story of a feisty farm woman who is concerned about activity on Crown Land near her farm…yahoos have been shooting off guns, having campfires, running dirt bikes with deadly hot mufflers in the 'potato-chip' crunchy bush. She has asked John, and the Government person responsible to shut down the road access because of the risk.

The state of emergency has been renewed for a third time. I think people get that this would be a temporary inconvenience, far less than the inconvenience of evacuating or losing your home.

I'll see if Chris posted the audio file. If the NDP acted on this, it would go a long way to let people in the Interior know that he gets how concerned we are…and by the way, I wouldn't want that Granny as my enemy, she's got the media thing figured out, and OH the big one: the grannies are going to block the road, and hand out free iced tea. Now THAT's how you get the media interested….

Anonymous said...

SH: Pissed Granny at 25:39:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/programs/daybreaksouth/7-8-a-m-1.4235706

North Van's Grumps said...

Skip the fund raising that is promoted on having total access of one-on-one with the ministers and/or premier. John Horgan, yes; Premier John Horgan, no. If its Premier John Horgan then it has to be open to all British Columbians, not restricted to party members only as a perk.

Anonymous said...

SH. Well said NVG

And…

There is a lesson in the words of Dorothy Woodend, who has written a solid movie review posted on The Tyee: "Inside the Cult of Assange"…the NDP must not go down the same road…

"Laura Poitras’s new film Risk follows six years in the life of Assange, the leading figure behind WikiLeaks, the organization that has released hundreds of thousands of secret documents. The film is permeated by a slow, bleak disappointment that seeps through the narrative like dirty water. This does not make for the most electrifying story, but it is a necessary one, an awakening, if you will, from the fantasia of promises to change the world to the plain old boring stuff of betrayal, failure, ego, and blindness.
It takes a while to get to that place, and we, the audience, trail along behind the filmmaker as her faith slowly crumbles — a sad broken sugar cookie of faded promises and broken dreams.

https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2017/08/04/Inside-the-Cult-of-Assange/

Sheldon Kitzul said...

It's unfortunate that these kinds of criticism are so shortsighted. This is an event that's been longstanding,10yrs I think. Some people like to play golf, and $500 for a fundraising round is not out of line.
You know what else is a longstanding event? The free BBQ with Premier Horgan in a couple of weeks. So let's talk about how that event is open to anyone willing to dish out $0 to spend time with him.

Anonymous said...

SH @ Sheldon Kitzul:

Low info voters are notoriously "short-sighted". That's our problem. This just feeds the media narrative...

Anonymous said...

SH:

This is good news (posted on Castanet forum):

Off Road Vehicle Restrictions Including Okanagan
Postby wanderer » Today, 12:12 pm

Effective at noon (Pacific time) on Friday, Aug. 4, 2017, the operation of any off-road vehicle for recreational purposes on Crown land will be prohibited throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre, Kamloops Fire Centre and Southeast Fire Centre. In addition, all on-highway vehicles must remain on defined road surfaces. This includes all of the Okanagan. I hope the message gets out to the tourists who will be coming into the area this long weekend.

http://bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca/hprScri ... sp?ID=2834

Map of restricted areas.
http://bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca/hprScri ... sp?ID=2834

Mr. Beer N. Hockey said...

Governments, nor the parties elected to patrol their hallways, do not, generally speaking, turn on dimes. Governments are more akin to oil tankers than naval cruisers. Note the time being set aside for a quickie review of site C - 12 weeks - and many are already questioning whether 3 months is enough time to informedly tackle that decision! Until new legislation is drafted I cannot see the wisdom in permitting the Opposition to take advantage of the rules of the day while the NDP accept no more than, say, $260 a year. That, by the way, is about where I would draw the line. Somewhere around $20 - $30 every couple of weeks.

North Van's Grumps said...

@SH 2:36

Our prayer for water puts all ATV users in their proper place

Anonymous said...

SH @ NVG perfect!

Let's hope our troubles don't come your way:

CBC 3 hrs ago: "A Clinton village councillor is warning people in B.C.'s Lower Mainland that smoke may just be the beginning of their troubles if a wildfire in the area gets much worse.

Susan Swan says the fire, which was started three days ago when a controlled burn got out of hand, has put BC Hydro's Kelly Lake substation in jeopardy.

The substation feeds power to the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island."

Lew said...

John Horgan held a presser today to announce the re-establishment of the Human Rights Commission, and news was breaking that Christy Clark told another huge lie when she claimed the BC Liberal caucus unanimously wanted her to stay. Darryl Plecas has in fact confirmed Bob Mackin's story about open dissent.

Those events should have been combined with a principled NDP announcement that in light of imminent legislation to ban union and corporate donations, proceeds of their long-standing golf tourney were now going toward the on-the-ground volunteer efforts on the DES overdose problem. That would have assured a long weekend of celebrating an NDP grand slam home-run.

Instead, the good news for the NDP was predictively overshadowed in the media by the bonehead move to press on and take a beating for a lousy $20K.

The BC Liberals couldn't possibly have bought advertising that effective for their cause.

Anonymous said...

Perception is every thing. NDP are trying to defend the indefensible, especially considering their stance but understanable justifications for accepting contributions prior to the election. They are now in power and the bar has been raised for their conduct and moral standards. With this decision, they clearly have cast a shadow over their integrity and provided major ammunition to their political opponents. The tournament should have been a charity event which would have been a win/win situation for everyone.

RossK said...

NVG--

Thanks, as usual

______

SH--

Glad to hear of the off-road closures. Sounds like a necessary temporary precaution.

_____

Sheldon K--

Thanks for you input.

I just fundamentally disagree and actually honestly believe that I'm taking the longsighted view of things here

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Beer--

I felt exactly the same as you before and during the election campaign. I do not that feel that way now that the Dippers are in power - especially when it comes to cash for access that can be ponied up from organizations/not individuals.
_____

Excellent point Lew--

I must confess that I hadn't thought of that when I read Mr. Kines' piece while I was eating lunch earlier today. My response was personal and visceral.

_____

Anon-Directly-Above--

I concur.


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Crankypants said...

You are 100% correct Ross. This tournament should have been cancelled immediately after the NDP took power. It is nothing more than cash for access to those that now wield the power in the province which is something that the NDP accused the BC Liberal Party of doing. The media has already jumped all over the hypocrisy. That is not a formula to gain votes going forward.

Sub-Boreal said...

To me, the most compelling argument against allowing this fundraiser to go ahead is that it provides oxygen to the "they're all the same" narrative, which is very difficult to counteract once it's entrenched.

Any blowback from supporters / allies at this stage is useful, though, just to show the government that they're being watched closely. It's clear that the calculation being made is that this will all go away once the legislation gets introduced in September. And there likely is also the presumption that party members / supporters will just suck it up because where else can they go? I've certainly seen this happen many times before when caucus does something egregious that is out of step with the base. The difference now is that, however flaky they might be, the existence of the Greens does provide a latent threat if the government goes squishy on what are de facto litmus tests for significant portions of the NDP base. Kinder Morgan and Site C will likely be the next such tests. Never underestimate the ability of the NDP to craft outcomes that alienate the greenies without winning back the Ironworkers!

It's a more useful exercise at this stage to get some concrete proposals out there in advance of the legislation being introduced, with specifics on amounts, spending between elections etc. We need some good examples of model legislation promoted by nonpartisan, respected academics and transparency advocates. Also - and I'm surprised this isn't being discussed more - any restrictions have to be applied to municipal elections, too. This will be a good indicator of how much influence the Vision Vancouver honchos have. The Meggs appointment didn't make me hopeful.

RossK said...

CP and SB--

Interesting perspectives.

I too would rather see political capital spent on tough, potentially unpopular, things that matter.

Hadn't thought of the Vision thing as it pertains to winning while rolling in the developers' dough...I hope that type of thing does not become an issue.

Still can't help but wonder what it would it would have been like around here if Jim (not James) Green had won the mayor's chair pre-Robertson rising.

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Anonymous said...

SH:

Lots of wisdom here. I hope the people who matter are listening.

Ray Blessin said...

My email to Premier Horgan:

Premier Horgan,

Do you have ANY IDEA how angry we are about this golf fund raising thing?!

Ray Blessin
250-318-3433

Anonymous said...

The problem is that individual donors like you will not make up the debt the party wracked up during the campaign. The Libs on the other hand are drowning in dollars. They could run another full campaign without taking in another nickel. With another campaign maybe just around the corner, the party has to get themselves to a place where they can be on something close to an equal footing before another election comes around or they will get slaughtered. Beer is right. Play by the rules until you get a chance to change the rules.

Ray Blessin said...

So, it IS all about the money!?

Lew said...

Anonymous @ 6:02am:

Playing by the rules apparently already left the NDP wracked in debt and the BC Liberals drowning in dollars to the extent they could run another full campaign without taking in another nickel.

So I wonder how it would be a good strategy to keep doing the same thing for a few more weeks for a pittance, when it would make much more sense to demonstrate to an electorate demanding an end to those rules that your party is indeed different when it comes to cash for access.

Cancelling the appearance by Horgan and Fleming at that fundraiser would have done the NDP brand much, much more good in the public eye than a lousy 20 grand will ever do. It would have demonstrated clearly that once they had some power to access, they wouldn't sell it.

Instead they opted for the cash. A golden opportunity to imprint the notion of real change is lost, and money won't get it back.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to BC
btw bc means bring cash?