It’s time to end the abuse of trust

Partisan PC Returning Officers just one example of how democracy has withered, Taft says

“On Thursday, Stelmach insisted he had nothing to do with selecting the returning officers. Tom Olsen, a spokesman for the premier, later clarified that Conservative MLAs and Tory constituency associations put names forward to party officials, and those officials submit the list to the chief electoral officer at Elections Alberta. Cabinet then approves the choices through an order-in-council.” – Edmonton Journal, Feb. 15, 2008

Kevin Taft’s Alberta Liberals will put the Chief Electoral Officer in charge of ensuring free and fair elections in Alberta.

Taft says bumbling PC leader Ed Stelmach’s defence of partisan electoral officers is part of a broader pattern of incompetence, abuse of trust, and misplaced priorities.

“This is one of the dangers of one-party rule for 37 years,” says Taft. “If we can’t trust the government to run elections properly, we can’t trust them to do much else.”

“The Alberta Liberals will implement the recommendations of the Chief Electoral Officer as soon as possible.”

“There’s a right way to do this, and it’s right there in detail in the recommendations from the Chief Electoral Officer in October, 2006.

“And it was there in the Alberta Liberals’ questions in the Assembly going back to before the 2004 election. The Stelmach government ignored expert advice on how democracy is supposed to work like they’ve ignored so many things.”

“It’s time for a change so we can get the job done right.”