Shelly Glover calls for Manitoba PC Party to postpone leadership decision
Candidate says too many members still don't have ballots; former PC MLA who endorsed Stefanson agrees
Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party leadership candidate Shelly Glover says Saturday's planned announcement of voting results should be postponed because too many PC members still haven't had a chance to cast ballots.
Glover, one of only two candidates to become the new leader of the governing PCs and Manitoba's next premier, said hundreds of party members did not receive ballots in the mail. She wants the leadership announcement put on hold until they've had a chance to obtain a ballot and vote.
The deadline to submit a completed ballot is Friday. As of Wednesday, at least 1,200 members had not received a voting package in the mail.
"I am just so sorry for those who have not received a ballot. We've done everything we can do, but the party was not ready for this," Glover said Thursday in an interview.
"I can't even begin to tell you how fraught with problems this has been. My heart is breaking right now because this is a party I have always believed in. It's a party that should be putting members first, and not our self-interests first."
The sole opponent of the former Conservative member of Parliament, Tuxedo MLA Heather Stefanson, said she has no problem with the announcement going ahead as planned on Saturday.
"Nothing ever goes perfectly, as we know, in leaderships. I've been through a number of them before and there's always glitches," Stefanson said Thursday. "I know the party is working diligently to fix this."
One of those fixes involves establishing ballot pickup and drop-off locations across the province.
Former Tory MLA Len Derkach, who represented Russell-area ridings for 25 years, said this last-minute effort disenfranchises voters outside Winnipeg.
"I think it's insulting to rural Manitobans to expect them to drive two to three hours to vote. Right now, it would be the same as if you asked Winnipeggers to drive to Brandon to vote. That would not be acceptable [to] anybody," Derkach said.
He too is calling on the party to postpone the leadership decision for 30 days — and he endorsed Stefanson.
"They still have time to correct this, even though the time is getting very short," he said.
Extending the voting period by a month "would salvage the process" and allow people who purchased memberships "to cast their ballots and have them counted," Derkach said.
'This whole process has been odd': member
There have also been concerns with the pickup locations within Winnipeg.
When PC member Jeff Penniston and his wife didn't receive their ballots, they tried calling the party office to find out what they should do.
Penniston said he eventually visited the party office on Kennedy Street in downtown Winnipeg and was told to get a ballot at an office building on Donald Street, in Osborne Village.
That building also houses Heather Stefanson's campaign headquarters.
Penniston said he wandered the halls of the office building until a Stefanson campaign worker asked him if he was there to vote for the Tuxedo MLA.
"It's kind of odd, but this whole process has been odd," Penniston said Thursday.
Penniston said he eventually found the accounting firm that held his family's voting packages. They were still marked "return to sender" by Canada Post.
"I'm quite concerned that if the PC leadership race can't organize 30,000 votes, how are they going to run a 1.4 million population?" he asked.
At least one sitting PC MLA is also open to postponing Saturday's decision.
McPhillips MLA Shannon Martin said the party and two leadership campaigns ought to meet to consider the best way to ensure every member can vote, even if that means delaying the decision.
The party declined requests for comment on Thursday.
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