UNITY FIASCO
| January 22, 2001 To: Reform BC
Board of Directors This letter is to keep you updated regarding Reform BC’s position with regard to the Unity Party. The members at Reform BC’s 2000 Annual General Meeting voted in favour of attempting to merge five political parties; however this merger has not been successful, due to the fact that in mid-August 2000, the Social Credit Party, the BC Conservative Party and the BC Party withdrew from the talks. Discussions continued with only one political party, the Family Coalition Party. However, Reform BC members had approved pursuing a merger with five parties, not one. A Reform BC Board decision made on October 16, 2000 reflected the members’ decision by putting a hold on the Unity Convention until after the next provincial election. Reform BC would continue its plans to move forward by fielding candidates in the upcoming provincial election. However, some Reform Board
members have been preparing for the Unity
Convention by using Reform BC’s
offices, volunteer staff, resources as
well as Reform BC’s membership lists.
They have continued to pursue the Unity
movement by accepting interim positions
with the Unity Party, and by registering
the Unity Party with Election BC as a
political party. This must not continue.
Within the constituencies, as well as
the Party Office, The Board will continue to uphold the Reform BC bylaws, including the bylaw preventing any Reform BC member from holding membership in another provincial political party (bylaw 1.1). The Board will also uphold bylaws 2.2 and 4.3, which require Board members (at the constituency level and Party level, respectively) to disclose their affiliation with all political organizations in which there is a conflict of interest. Chris Delaney resigned as President of Reform BC to seek the leadership of the Unity Party. With his resignation, Bob Zayonc became acting President, pursuant to Reform BC bylaw 4.7. Recently, however, Bob Zayonc has publicly declared that he is now active in the Unity Party, holding a position as a regional contact for the Unity Party. Therefore, these individuals no longer have any position of authority within Reform BC. At its most recent meeting on January 14, 2001, the remaining Board members reaffirmed their decision to continue as Reform BC, independent of the Unity Party, and appointed Ron Gamble as Vice President, pursuant to bylaw 4.10. As Bob Zayonc no longer holds a position on the Board, Ron Gamble shall now assume and perform the duties of the President, pursuant to bylaw 4.7. Because of these unusual circumstances, it is imperative that all Constituency Board members confirm their willingness to stay with Reform in writing if they intend to continue working on behalf of Reform BC. Please fax your confirmation to me at (604) 592-2812 before January 31, 2001. Please give a copy of this letter to all your Constituency Board Members. Sincerely yours, |