Anders asks Tory supporters to ignore nomination question

Calgary West MP Rob Anders is asking card-carrying Tories to support his incumbency by ignoring a letter from the constituency board that asks if they want to see a nomination race.

"I hope you will agree that now is not the time to open up another long, bitter, drawn-out nomination battle. It will not be good for the party or Calgary West," reads the letter from Anders dated April 2, days after his supporters lost control of the riding's board of directors, which oversees nominations.

"If you think a nomination battle is not necessary at this time, your job is easy, follow the instructions in the letter and simply do not reply," writes Anders.

That same week, the Conservative Party of Canada sent letters to members in all constituencies held by Tory MPs, asking if they wanted tohold nomination races. Those who do are required to return a form by mail.

Underparty rules adopted last month, at least two-thirds of a riding's membership must respond "Yes" by April 30 to allow a race to go ahead. Anyone who doesn't respond is counted as a "No" vote.

"Ultimately, it's up to the members to decide,"Anders toldCBC News.

No nomination contest since 2003

But Donna Kennedy-Glans, who wants to challenge Anders for the Tory nomination in Calgary West, said she feels the process doesn't give members much choice.

"If people do not respond or don't understand it, and don't do anything, it's actually a vote in support of the incumbent," she saidMonday, pointing out the riding hasn't had a nomination contest since 2003.

"The whole thing is a bit ironic. The incumbent MP can protect himself. The board of directors who wants people to understand what's being asked of them, doesn't have access to the membership list."

Gord Kirk, the interim president of the Calgary West board of directors, said its hands are tied because it doesn't have contact information for all party members in the riding.

"We certainly can't communicate in the normal fashion," he said. "If we had access to a database we could at least see how many people had email addresses so we could see if we could email, or send a letter like Rob Anders did, or a phone campaign."

Board can access database after executive finalized

Don Plett, president of the Conservative Party of Canada, said the board that was elected on March 28 needs to finalize its executive and then apply for access to the database, which is the standard procedure.

"They haven't even applied for it. So once they apply for it, then the process starts," Plett said on Monday.

However, Kirk said he faxed an application to the party's office in Ottawa on April 9. "We have done everything from our end. It's certainly being held up on the Ottawa end," he said.

Because most of the 30-member board is newly elected, Kirk said they decided to give everyone time to consider candidates and choose a permanent executive at the next meeting, which is scheduled for April 27. But he disputes that an interim board cannot have the same access as a permanent one.

Anders, who has access to membership information as an MP, paid for the correspondence himself.

"He has not used either government funds nor party funds to do that. He had used his own funds to send that letter out and that is certainly his right to do so," said Plett.