Since I wrote my first blog on mayoral candidate Jami Paras' failed attempt to get the Peace River Minor Hockey Association to launch legal action against the Town over the
borrowing bylaw for the arena, one of the major questions that has
emerged is whether or not candidates for council are truly running as
independents, or whether there is some kind of voting bloc,
coalition or coalitions operating behind the scenes.
When I had first asked Paras in our
interview about the leaked email whether he had mentioned any other
candidates, he had stated he didn't, which was at best only partially
true. While he didn't mention anyone by name, he did mention in the
leaked email that he had “2-3 other candidates” and was looking
for more of the “right people”. The implication seemed to be that if he won he would not
be only a single vote on council, and had others who would vote with
him.
His public note of support for Bryon
Schamehorn and Chelsey Friedt, posted to his page on August 25, just
days after he sent the email, raised the question of whether these
candidates were the two he was referring to in the email.
In his public written apology on
Facebook a few days ago, Paras denied it was those candidates, stating that, “The possible candidates that l had
spoken with were not part of this letter, and decided not run for
their own reasons with no mention of this to them. I respect and now
realize how dirty things can get. They are private citizens and
aren't involved. The right people to me means Councillors who listen
to the people and there are a number of those on this ballot.”
Schamehorn has also been adamant that he did
not know about the email, and I updated my original post to include
his comments denying any knowledge of the scheme, despite his family connections to Mr. Paras. I did not, however, hear directly from
Friedt.
Since this was the question that seemed
to be on everyone's minds and had already earned me my second threat
of a legal action by Schamehorn for posting the statement of support
Paras had made for him and for Friedt, I decided to take a look at
the nomination papers of each candidate and see what they might
reveal about possible alliances.
Please note that the nomination papers
for all of the candidates are open to viewing by anyone in the public
simply by contacting CAO Christopher Parker, so you're welcome to go
take a look yourself at any time if you don't want to take my word
for what they say. If you'd like more information on how nomination papers work, you can review Alberta's guide for municipal candidates.
Nomination papers do show a direct tie
between council candidate Chelsey Friedt and Mayoral candidate Jamie
Paras. Friedt's husband and First Baptist Church Reverend Nathan Friedt
is listed as her campaign manager, which is not surprising. But the
nomination papers also show that Nathan Freidt is listed as Jami
Paras' campaign manager as well.
Of course, they do all attend the same
church. (Schamehorn also performs there and used to be
on the First Baptist church council, according to his bio on his official FB page.) As part of the same congregation, they would know each other and may share similar values.
Sharing a campaign manager, however, is not as easy to write off as
simple civic-mindedness as just signing nomination papers may be. A campaign manager is usually responsible for directing strategy behind-the-scenes, organizing volunteers, making decisions on where
to spend money or donations and tracking expenses, helping handle any new issue or crisis that comes up,
and helping determine the candidate's messaging, among many other possible tasks.
I contacted Friedt directly to get her
comments.
“This is quite common knowledge,”
she told me over Facebook message.
“I’ve already stated I had no idea
about the letter nor would I have supported it. I have no kids who
play ice sports so a second arena is not really an issue for me at
all.”
When I asked why her husband was
managing both her own campaign and Paras', she refused to answer and
simply directed me to ask her husband Reverend Friedt.
When I contacted Reverend Friedt via
email, he said he was unable to reply until Monday due to other
pressing commitments (a funeral and a weekend conference). I did
offer to quote a short emailed statement if he preferred in lieu of a
full interview, but he did not provide one.
Having been involved in many elections
both as a candidate and volunteer, I do find it unusual for the
campaign manager for two different candidates to be otherwise
committed the days immediately before the election rather than
campaigning, since those are obviously the most important time to get out the vote. However, I don't doubt the duties of a
Reverend to his church and community are important.
Monday being the election, though, that may be
a bit too late for many voters to learn his response. I will
still update with his comments if he provides them at that time.
I also contacted Jami Paras directly,
and when he responded he refused to answer other than simply
directing me to his Record-Gazette profile. That profile, of course,
makes no mention of his email to PRMHA or to his campaign manager.
With no real comment from any of the
people involved, I guess it's up to voters to ask or decide what it
may imply that two candidates who claim to be independent share the
same campaign manager.
In terms of the other candidates,
nomination papers for council candidate Richard Wesolowski were
signed by both former Mayor Lorne Mann and Phyllis Mann.
Wesolowski is a somewhat controversial
candidate himself, a former councillor who was convicted of forgery
in 2004 and sentenced to six months probation for cashing a $4,645
cheque that was not meant for him. Concerned citizens have posted the article on the conviction to Facebook and have been discussing
whether something that happened over a decade ago is still relevant
to character.
Don Good, having been around the
political block before and likely guessing inquiring minds would take
a look at the nomination forms, made a post to Facebook over the
weekend regarding the question of whether there was some sort of “conspiracy”, and denying
that signing nomination papers meant anything in terms of political
support.
“I signed Jami Paras's election
nomination papers and to be honest I don't remember if he signed
mine. If he did I'm Ok with that too. And just to clarify, if Tom or
Sherry had asked me to sign theirs I would have also. I get along, I
think well, with both of them. They didn't ask. To me, signing a
nomination paper is not an endorsement, it's just helping a person
who wishes start on the process of running for council. I enjoyed and
appreciated my time on council and learned an incredible amount.
Heck, I'll help anyone who wishes to join in that journey, gladly.”
He then went on to tell of the kindness
and business advice he has received from both Jami and his father
Elgar, and noted his own 12 years on council and other service.
As he openly stated, Good did sign Jami
Paras' nomination papers. Good's own nomination papers were signed
not by Jami but by Elgar Paras, James Paras' father. They were also
signed by Byron Schamehorn, which he “confessed” to in his
own FB comments on Good's post.
“The last few days have been
difficult for me and my family. In the process of trying to protect
my reputation I have had to focus solely on Jami's actions relating
to once circumstance. I have had to be critical, even harsh. For that
I'm sorry. My criticism is toward his actions and not his person.
While I can't condone what he did I can say he's a good man, husband
and father. My daughter was away at Bible Camp and Angela and I
wanted to re-do her room as a surprise for when she came back. Jami
lent me his tools to finish the job. No questions asked. He and his
family have put a lot of time into Peace River. They've fixed up a
building down-town in a way that many of us wish to see happen to
empty buildings that we pass by every day. Lise is always at school,
hockey and gymnastics events to name a few. Good people sometimes
make bad decisions and I'm truly no different as I've erred since
announcing too. Thank you Don
for being the stand-up guy you are.”
He concluded, “I also have another
confession to make before the end of my comment and it is that I
signed Don's nomination papers as well, and when I say confession I
mean I was honored to do so.”
The nomination papers show this is
true. Schamehorn's nomination papers, meanwhile, were signed by
major figures in the community such as Stephen Woodburn, Shelly Sorensen, and Jonathan Pittman, but not
Paras.
“Don Good you are so correct in
stating that just because someone signs your nomination papers does
not mean that they are endorsing you,” Sherry Hilton wrote in her
own comments on Good's post.
“Two years ago, during the provincial
election, I ended up meeting the Wildrose candidate while he was in
town and he needed more signatures for his nomination papers. I
gladly signed them. I was running AGAINST this man so my signature
was in no way an endorsement to vote for him. I was just being a
decent human being. I truly hope that Chelsey
Friedt and Byron
Schamehorn's campaigns are not affected negatively by the errors
made by Jami Paras. That would be truly unjust."
Hilton did not mention whose papers she
had signed herself. Her nomination papers show that she signed the papers
for Anna Aleksov, and Anna signed hers in return.
Aleksov is perhaps best known for her
previous experience with the Town as Executive Assistant to former CAO Kelly Bunn, who was let go and is currently suing the Town for money he feels he was
owed as per his contract. Aleksov stopped working for the Town not long after.
I'll be posting another blog on the current state of that lawsuit shortly based on the most recent judgment.
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Thanks for reading. I appreciate any news tips or
information, and as always I welcome any comments and am happy to arrange interviews should anyone want to give their side of the story or give updated comments or information.
I also want to note I don't endorse
anyone, and don't have a vote in Town. I do, however, care what
happens there as my children go to school there, and I have lived and
worked and volunteered in the Town off and on for many years. My
family has considered Peace River our hometown since 2000 when we
first fell in love with it and moved into the blue townhouses. I do care a lot about Peace River and the people of the community and I think I always will. It might have been drinking the water, but I think it's more the beauty of the place and the caring community that have won my heart.
If you're wondering about my writing background, I have worked as a staff reporter over the years for the Mile Zero News, the Smoky River Express, the Peace Country Sun, Art of the Peace, theVault, and more, and have also published freelance articles in AlbertaViews, eye in Toronto, and many more. My specialty was always social and political issues. My degree is in English Literature and my life's passion will always be writing in one form or another. I am currently working on a book.
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