First order of business for the new executive of the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country Federal Liberal Association is a candidate selection process.Members of the riding association elected a new executive at an annual general meeting on Saturday, April 5.Ken Halliday, riding association president, said the new executive is excited and keen. "We adopted a motto, Building to Win," he said. "That is the focus of our energy in the coming months."The first activity will be to put in place a candidate selection committee, Halliday also said, and to begin a candidate selection process.Blair Wilson ran for the Liberals in 2004, losing narrowly to Conservative John Reynolds, and won the riding in 2006, but resigned from the Liberal caucus in October 2007 after a series of media reports detailed business, financial and election allegations.Elections Canada has been investigating allegations made by former Liberal campaign workers that there was improper campaign spending during the last election, but has yet to release any findings.After reviewing Wilson's status, the Liberal party's green-light committee informed him in December that he couldn't seek re-election as the party's candidate in the riding. The previous executive had said it was prepared to abide by the outcome of the party process, Halliday said. "That party process said Blair wasn't going to be a candidate, so that's why we're having a candidate selection process," he said.There was a small group of people who wanted the Liberal Party to invite Wilson back, said Judi Tyabji, the CEO of a software company who was elected as a regional vice-president representing Powell River on the new riding association executive. "They were claiming all of this was a misunderstanding, that I had initiated controversy against Blair because I was after the nomination," she said. "I didn't initiate it. It came out of the Conservatives, then it came out of other people who had done business with Blair."There seemed to be a group of people contesting the executive that was elected, Tyabji said, and those people did speak quite strongly in favour of Wilson. The new executive is going to respect the research of the green-light committee, she added. "The Liberal Party of Canada has been very firm in saying candidates for the party have to meet a certain standard," she said. "The green-light committee has determined that he [Wilson] can not meet that standard."Tyabji also said she would not be running as a candidate and she expects a candidate will come from West Vancouver.Two other Powell River residents, Sharon Feduniak and Joke Polman Tuin were elected as members-at-large on the executive.Wilson said he was happy to see a full slate of directors elected to the local riding association. "As the elected Member of Parliament for the riding, I work hard to represent each and every constituent, regardless of their political persuasion," he said. "I am always happy to see individual citizens become actively involved in our political process and I encourage more people to do the same. "The more people we can help get involved in the political process, the better."MP files counterclaim against father-in-law: see page A7
