CBRM councillor says election opponent should be disqualified for not taking leave sooner

A Cape Breton Regional Municipality councillor who's reoffering in the upcoming Nova Scotia municipal elections says his only opponent should be disqualified.

Darren O'Quinn, the incumbent councillor for District 11, said candidate Louie Piovesan is an employee with CBRM's public works department, and he was nominated before getting a leave of absence from his employer.

O'Quinn said that's a clear violation of the Municipal Elections Act and a provincial handbook for candidates.

"It's in black and white there, and anyone running in an election should have read the handbook," said O'Quinn. "You should make sure you're a qualified candidate is what I'm saying, and obviously that wasn't done in this case."

The province's Municipal Elections Act requires municipal employees who plan to run in an election to take a leave of absence no later than the day they officially become a candidate.

O'Quinn said he raised his concern about Piovesan's candidacy with the returning officer weeks ago, but nothing was done.

He said Piovesan got his leave approved last week, though nominations for candidates closed Sept. 10.

Just a misunderstanding, says candidate

Piovesan confirmed he received leave approval last week, and said not taking it before running for council was a simple mistake.

"I had the understanding that when I win the district, I would take a leave of absence because there's a conflict of interest there, of course, and I had no problem. I was ready to do that," he said.

O'Quinn said he still believes Piovesan should be disqualified because of the conflict of interest before taking his leave, suggesting someone in his opponent's position could "do favours for people in return for votes."

"I mean the opportunity was there and I'm assuming he may have had the opportunity," said O'Quinn. "I'm sure he spoke to people while he was at work and you can't campaign while you're at work."

Piovesan said he was busy working all day doing jobs assigned to him by management, so he had no opportunity to offer anyone favours, nor did he campaign while on the job.

He also said the returning officer accepted his nomination knowing he was a fellow CBRM employee, so he thought nothing was wrong.

After a brief CBRM meeting Wednesday morning, several councillors urged O'Quinn to fight, saying it was not fair that an employee was running against him.

Coun. Lorne Green, who's running for re-election in District 12, said the rules should have been clear to the candidates and the returning officer.

"It's so much black and white that it's just, it's appalling that it's got to this point," he said.

In an email, returning officer Christa Dicks said it's up to candidates to swear an oath that they meet the qualifications to run.

She said she does not have the authority to remove a candidate from the ballot, but an elector, or the clerk at the direction of council, can ask a judge to void the results if they apply within 21 days of the election.

A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs said in an email that municipalities are responsible for the administration of their own elections.

Municipal elections will be held across Nova Scotia on Oct. 19.