Former Alberta UCP leadership candidate Jeff Callaway says he will never run again if a Calgary judge overturns his $70,000 fine for illegal contributions to his kamikaze campaign.
Callaway’s arraignment before Crown Court judge Janice Ashcroft took place on Friday, with the judge reserving her decision.
The fines stem from the 2017 UCP leadership race, where Callaway’s campaign collected $60,000 from businessman Robin Lorre, which was then distributed among donors to avoid violating the maximum limit of $4,000 in annual contributions, according to the findings of the Electoral Commissioner’s investigation.
The $70,000 fines are “unreasonable” and “punitive against him as an individual,” said Callaway’s attorney, Hardeep Sangha.
“Serious damage to reputation”
Sangha told the judge his client had suffered “serious reputational damage” and lost his job following the investigation and fines.
According to Sangha, Callaway would agree to an order not to run again in another election.
Callaway ran a kamikaze campaign on behalf of Jason Kenney with the sole purpose of targeting Kenney’s arch-rival, former Wildrose leader Brian Jean.
Then, on a set date, Callaway dropped out of the race to support Kenney, who became premier of Alberta.
In 2019, Lorne Gibson, the election commissioner at the time, issued a notice to Callaway, reporting his investigation findings and imposing a $70,000 penalty on the former candidate.
The announcement refers to Callaway’s “dark horse” and “kamikaze” campaign.
The Sangha contested the terms used in the notice, calling their use “inappropriate” and “unreasonable”. The Sangha argued that the kamikaze campaign was not illegal or in violation of the Election Funding and Contribution Disclosure Act.
“It is not a violation of the law to conduct an actual kamikaze campaign,” Sangha said.
“You haven’t returned their calls”
Callaway’s attorney also argued that his client was not given an adequate chance to respond and defend himself to the charges before the commissioner’s fines were imposed.
But in his 2019 letter, Commissioner Gibson indicated that investigators had attempted to contact Callaway.
“Over the past several months, investigators from my office have made great efforts to meet with you and have repeatedly sought opportunities from you to obtain your version of these events,” Gibson wrote.
“You haven’t answered their calls, emails or voicemails.”
Paula Hale, a lawyer for the commissioner of elections, pointed out that unlike criminal law, the law states that the commissioner must notify a person who is under investigation “at any time before the conclusion” of the investigation.
The Callaway investigation has become the largest election investigation in Alberta. More than $200,000 in fines were levied against Callaway, the campaign team and “straw” donors. Many of the fines are subject to judicial review.
Evidence gathered through that investigation and an additional criminal complaint spawned an RCMP investigation into the kamikaze campaign finance and alleged voter identity theft during the same leadership race.
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