Monday, October 15, 2012

You may well understand what I'd think of anyone, who made the claim, any of the individuals was not dealt with in a process that included much thought and deliberation


As many of you know, I am the Regional Director of the BC Conservative Party, for the Kamloops Thompson Fraser Nicola region.

Some in the media have accused our party of being quick to react to criticism, of being harsh and uncaring.

I'm not asking for sympathy, however the reality of my weekend included two separate provincial board meetings for the BC Conservative Party.  

One of these lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes ... the other of which was 3 hour and 30 minutes -- dealing with problems arising from very public comments made by some of not just a lack of support of John Cummins, but that he resign, despite the overwhelming will of the membership who have a completely different opinion.

Several hours were also needed to go over material and information prior to these meetings ... and for follow-up today.

Suffice to say you may well understand what I'd think of anyone, who made the claim, any of the individuals was not dealt with in a process that included much thought and deliberation.

And the result?  



For those who have not yet seen it, here is the media release which was sent out late this morning by the BC Conservative party:

BC Conservative Board votes to expel some members,
censure others, and establish "Unity Committee"

After several meetings over the weekend, the Board of the BC Conservative Party has settled the issue of internal Party discipline by voting to send out a total of 15 disciplinary letters, including terminations of membership and letters of censure. The discipline is being meted out to these 15 individuals for their ongoing and public calls for a leadership review in violation of the clear processes outlined in Section 11.04 of the Party's Bylaws. 

The affected Party members will be receiving notification of the disciplinary proceedings by mail this week.
Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, we will not be releasing the names of the individuals in question, and neither the Party President, the Leader, nor any member of the Board will be making any further public comment on these internal matters. 

The Board also passed two other motions. 

One of them will create a new "Unity Committee". 

"We recognize that there are things which can be done to improve our internal processes," said Party Leader John Cummins. "The motion was clear when it said that we are looking for ways to engage our members, Constituency Association Presidents and Boards, and improve communications within our Party."

Party President Al Siebring added: "We're a forward-looking Party, and we recognize we need to do more to engage our membership. There's always room for improvement."

The Committee will be chaired by Director Daniel Brooks, and will also include Vice-President Christine Clarke and Director Dennis Belliveau, who is an experienced mediator in his professional life.

The Board also passed a motion to express "its full confidence and support for John Cummins as the Leader of the BC Conservative Party heading into the May 2013 election."

The matter is now settled ... it's time to move forward.

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one -- no many -- conservatives.

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