A flyer was delivered to my home in Saanich last Friday, Oct. 5th. (see below):
I find it deliberately and purposefully misrepresentative, insofar as on first glance it appears to be a publication from the Municipality of Saanich, and purports to be an ‘official’ election handbook. On reading, it turns out to be nothing of the kind, as it only presents the options put forward by the incumbent Mayor and his cabal. I believe that the current Mayor is deliberately misrepresenting ‘United for Saanich’ as officially sanctioned by the Municipality of Saanich.
This is a blatant abuse of authority, and I believe that United in Saanich should be reprimanded by your office for publicizing themselves in this manner.
The Chief Election Officer of Saanich replied, in agreement (see below) and included your email. I feel that this deliberately egregious attempt to mislead voters is sufficiently grave to bring to your attention as well.
Yours sincerely
Michael Goodwin
The notice was sent to the ‘United for Saanich’ group:
Dear Candidate,
The attached brochure has been brought to the attention of the Chief Election Officer as it appears to come across as a Saanich Municipal document. Please note that this document may be perceived as being issued by the District of Saanich. This notice is for United for Saanich and its candidates/official agents to discontinue the distribution immediately. As previously discussed with you all, the District of Saanich does not endorse any candidates nor does it allow for Saanich corporate branding in any candidate election materials. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
You may also wish to forward your concerns to Elections BC as they monitor the candidates campaign financing and advertising. Elections BC can be reached at:
Local Elections Campaign Financing
Toll-free phone: 1-855-952-0280(Monday to Friday, 8:30a.m. to 4:30p.m)
Email: lecf@elections.bc.ca<mailto:lecf@elections.bc.ca>
If you have any other comments on concerns, please do not hesitate to bring them to my attention.
