Kuo may jump to the NDP?

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 22, 2005


Will he or won't he?

Longtime members of the Burnaby-Willingdon NDP are expressing concern over a former Liberal party activist's apparent planning for a coup at the party's upcoming Feb. 20 nomination meeting.

David Myles, the longtime NDP riding association president, confirmed that the riding now has almost 1,300 paid members, up substantially from its historic figure of just 200 members.

A variety of officials within the NDP confirm that the sign-ups have been organized by Tony Kuo, the man who bills himself as "Mr. Democracy" and who made an unsuccessful attempt to win a federal Liberal nomination in Burnaby last year.

Kuo's so-called "instant memberships" are raising hackles within the Burnaby NDP.

"We'd have trouble endorsing a candidate who does not know if he's an NDPer or a Liberal yet," said Myles, who was the NDP candidate in the Willingdon riding for the 2000 provincial election. "But I don't think there's a lot the provincial office can do about it. They can review it all they want, but what are they going to do?"

Kuo, who did not return repeated phone messages from the Burnaby NOW over the past two weeks, made national headlines last year when he attempted to win the federal Liberal nomination in Burnaby-Douglas. Kuo complained bitterly when Prime Minister Paul Martin sidestepped the nomination process and appointed the president of the party's B.C. wing, investment banker Bill Cunningham, as its candidate in Burnaby- Douglas prior to last summer's federal election.

If the speculation is correct and Kuo does want to run for the NDP in Willingdon, he will have to formally file his nomination papers prior to the Feb. 6 cutoff date.

Myles and other longtime party members said Kuo's potential candidacy might be reason enough for the B.C. NDP to consider adding an oversight mechanism into its nomination process that could reject a potential candidate for any number of pre-established reasons.

However, Myles also noted the B.C. NDP has a long history of accepting candidates who have grown disgruntled with other political parties.

"This is a very highly unusual situation, but we have had other people do the same thing in the past," Myles said, noting that former NDP cabinet minister Gordon Wilson was in fact the leader of the B.C. Liberal party before he was ousted by current premier Gordon Campbell.

If the NDP is going to have an oversight mechanism, it must be clearly spelled out in the party's constitution, Myles said.

"I wouldn't have a problem with that if they had a policy in place, but at the moment, they don't have a policy," Myles said.

An oversight mechanism would also find favour with the other two declared candidates in the Willingdon NDP nomination race - Michael Walton and Tom Sigurdson.

Walton, a lawyer and president of the Burnaby-Douglas federal NDP riding association, said all political parties should review their nomination procedures as a matter of course.

"I believe not only our party but all parties have to look at the rule of how long people have to have a membership before they're eligible to run enter or run," Walton said. "All the parties are suffering from instant member syndrome and I don't think it's healthy for our culture.

"Many people in the electorate vote on the basis of a party. For someone to run for a party that they have not believed in - whether it's NDP, Liberal or Conservative - frankly is a misuse of our political system."

Sigurdson, former executive director of the B.C. Building Trades and Construction Council and a one-time Alberta NDP MLA, said he feels the same about Kuo joining the NDP as he did when former B.C. NDP premier Ujjal Dosanjh crossed the floor to join the federal Liberals.

"I think it's unfortunate and an indicator that something is systemically flawed and wrong with the political process," Sigurdson said. "If I've been a New Democrat all my life, why would I vote for someone who a few months ago was a member of a different political party?"