http://www.timescolo...1051/story.htmlGreater Victoria school trustee ousted by board launches court action
By Jeff Bell and Lindsay Kines, Times ColonistMay 26, 2009
Victoria, B.C. - Catherine Alpha has launched a court action in her quest to return to the Greater Victoria board of education.
Alpha, a first-term trustee, lost her seat when it was discovered that she
didn't have all of the forms in order when she filed her financial statement following last November's local elections. She told the board last week she was planning to take her case to B.C. Supreme Court.
Provincial rules call for all candidates to file financial statements within 120 days, which made the filing deadline March 15. There are also provisions for a 30-day extension. Failure to file as stipulated leads to automatic disqualification from office, and disqualification from running in B.C.'s next general local election.
Alpha said she filed on time, but made an honest mistake in how the filing was done -- basically by using an incorrect form.
Since then, the rest of the trustees have debated the issue, with the majority voting to go ahead with byelection plans -- another aspect of provincial regulations. A June 27 byelection date was set.
Some trustees said the board should do more on Alpha's behalf, with trustee Peg Orcherton being especially vocal against the byelection vote.
Alpha is seeking a B.C. Supreme Court order stating that she has met her financial disclosure obligations and is allowed to hold office. She argues in her petition that neither she nor her financial agent, Deborah Nohr, had any experience at filing disclosure statements and relied on materials provided by the school district.
Nohr was also the financial agent for the Victoria Public Education Coalition (VPEC), which ran the school-trustee campaigns for Alpha, Starla Anderson and Tamara Malczewska.
Nohr and Alpha believed that they could file a disclosure statement for either VPEC or Alpha, but were not required to file statements for both.On March 12, Nohr filed a disclosure statement detailing the money that VPEC raised and spent on behalf of Alpha and the other two candidates.
"My campaign was run entirely through VPEC," Alpha states in an affidavit. "I asked people who wanted to donate to me to make their donations directly to VPEC because everything was run from there.
"All of my campaign contributions were provided to VPEC, and VPEC paid my campaign expenses. Because of my close ties to VPEC, Deborah and I wanted to make sure that my disclosure emphasized my association with VPEC, so it would not seem that I was hiding this relationship."
The disclosure showed VPEC spent about $2,300 on behalf of the three candidates and raised $3,400. More than half the money raised -- $2,000 -- came from the Greater Victoria Teachers' Association. Also among the contributors were the Victoria Labour Council with $300, and Irene Lanzinger, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, who made an individual donation of $100 to the campaign.
The disclosure statement, however, did not include a declaration signed by Alpha, the petition says. On April 23, the school district notified Alpha that she had failed to comply with disclosure requirements and could not continue as a trustee.
In her affidavit, Alpha expresses frustration that nobody told her about the potential problem with her disclosure until April 23.
Meanwhile, five people have put their names forward to contest Alpha's seat in the scheduled byelection. Last Friday was the deadline to submit nomination papers.
The candidates are Mark Walsh, Malczewska, Don Peterson, Paul Greig and Georgia-Anne Jones. Walsh is a two-term trustee who lost his seat in last November's race, while Malczewska also lost out last November in her first try at becoming a trustee.
Jones was also involved in the November elections, garnering 95 votes in a run for Victoria mayor.
VPEC co-chairman Patrick Schreck said cases such as Alpha's have a "built-in timeline" and can proceed relatively quickly.
"We're anticipating a response back from the Supreme Court before the byelection takes place."
lkines@tc.canwest.comjwbell@tc.canwest.com© Copyright © The Victoria Times Colonist