Tim Houston campaign event deemed to violate membership rules

The campaign for Tory leadership candidate Tim Houston has been reprimanded for a fundraising event that promised a party membership with the purchase of a ticket.

Party members and Houston's email list subscribers recently received an invitation to a barbecue and rally on Sunday in Halifax.

The note mentions a pig roast and DJ would be on site and that the $10 ticket to attend "includes a PC Party membership, which allows you to vote in the PC leadership race this fall."

According to a letter sent to Houston's campaign from leadership co-chairs Tara Erskine and Chris d'Entremont, which CBC News obtained, theevent's setup violates campaign rules.

Memberships could be challenged

"It is our conclusion that the Houston campaign is attempting to obtain memberships in violation of the rules," reads the letter.

"The rules committee has decided that the $10 is paid in consideration for the BBQ, and those funds are then campaign money. The campaign cannot then use those funds to purchase memberships on behalf of attendees."

The letter goes on to say the committee has determined the event violates the rule that stipulates people must pay for their own memberships, and that the validity of any memberships purchased in relation to this weekend's event would be determined later by the credentials committee and could possibly be challenged.

Someone who obtains a membership in the way described in the invitationmay not be eligible to vote at the October convention.

Language 'could have been more clear'

Houston campaign spokesperson Nicole LaFosse said it was never their intention to purchase memberships for people attending the event.

"That was not something that even entered our minds," she said.

"The intention was always that anybody coming to this event who was not a member and wanted to purchase a membership, that $10 that they were providing was going directly to their membership."

It was only existing members that would pay for entry, as a campaign donation, said LaFosse. She acknowledged the language in the advertisement "could have been different and it could have been more clear."

Actions ordered

The leadership committee called for four actions bythe Houston campaign:

• That an email be sent to everyone who received an invitation to the barbecue indicating all members must pay for their own membership and that if people want a membership, they must buy one at the event.
• Update the campaign website to reflect the clarification about the event this weekend.
• The campaign has the choice to decide whether it wants to refund tickets people have purchased and make it a free event.
• The campaign must provide the leadership selection committee with a list of names of people who have bought tickets to the event "for the purpose of determining if those persons obtained a membership in compliance with the rules and are entitled to vote."

LaFosse said the campaign is expecting a strong turnout this weekend and they've made it free for anyone who wants to come.

Past campaign missteps

This isn't the first time Houston's campaign has run afoul of campaign rules.

In February, a Houston supporter inappropriately used a party membership email list to endorse the Pictou East MLA.

In April, another Houston supporter was offering to purchase memberships on behalf of people who couldn't afford them with money donated by someone fromCape Breton and someone from Ontario.

A spokesperson for leadership contender Cecil Clarke's campaign said Houston's campaign is the only one to find itself on the wrong side of the rules, and noted it's happened multiple times.

"The seriousness of this issue goes to the core integrity of the leadership process and the leadership selection committee has handled it appropriately,"Leah Batstone said in an email.

LaFossesaid the campaign has always been eager to work with the leadership committee on finding clarity for any problems related to the rules.

Similar invitation

Houston's campaign received the letter because a formal complaint was filed, however he is not the only candidate who has used this kind of advertising approach.

Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin's campaign made a similar pitch to supporters for an event it heldlast month, which was advertised on Facebook and Twitter. Although the post is no longer online, a screen grab shows the $10 ticket is billed as including food, face painting, a gift for children and a one-year party membership.

While no formal complaint was filed for that ad, an official with the leadership committee said they were aware of it and noted the letter sent Friday to the Houston campaign was also sent to the other campaigns to serve as a reminder of the rules.

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