By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The Osoyoos municipal election has taken a nasty turn with video evidence of election tampering leading to an RCMP investigation of the husband of the campaign finance manager for mayoral candidate Sue McKortoff.
The issue has been percolating on Facebook after various still images and videos of an unidentified male removing a Dustin Sikora campaign sign on Spartan Drive and 92nd Ave on Tuesday were posted on the Osoyoos First Facebook page.
Many local residents recognized that man as Marcel St. Louis, in part because his wife Janis is a well-known community volunteer.
Osoyoos RCMP paid a visit to the St. Louis home Tuesday night after mayoral challenger Dustin Sikora made a police report over the sign tampering. The case is currently ongoing and Marcel St. Louis – who says it was done as a prank – is now waiting to learn the consequences of his action.
According to the B.C. Election Act, unauthorized removal or defacement of election signs is punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not longer than one year, or both.
Citing “election irregularities” that he says have occurred in recent days including multiple election signs that went missing between Oct. 7-11 near 92nd Ave and Spartan Drive followed by this latest video, Sikora says he turned over the evidence to the RCMP.
“I personally take this matter very seriously as it is a symbol of what needs to change,” said Sikora. “Change is always met with peak resistance when it is needed the most.”
Speaking to the Times Chronicle on Wednesday morning, McKortoff said that neither her nor Janis St. Louis – her Financial Agent for the election – had any knowledge of the sign tampering but confirmed it was St. Louis’ husband in the video.
“I knew absolutely nothing about it and neither did Janis and I don’t want people thinking I had anything to do with it because I absolutely did not,” McKortoff said adding, “I would never, ever condone this.”
The Times Chronicle reached Marcel St. Louis on Wednesday afternoon where he explained his motivations behind the sign removal and pleaded ignorance of election laws.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing and I was not stealing the sign, I moved it up to the Husky truck stop,” he said, explaining that it was a lark.
“In my mind, I thought to myself this would be good for a joke, I know that the truckers can’t vote and he’s a big convoy supporter – he put $23,000 into it – and I thought well, he should have a sign up there that the truckers can see because he’s a supporter of the convoy.”
“Janis and Sue, they had no idea about this,” he added, saying he didn’t even tell his wife about it because it was just for a “laugh”. He also denied removing any other election campaign signs.
With the seriousness of his actions now sinking in, St. Louis acknowledges it’s no longer a laughing matter.
“It’s not a joke to me anymore and if I had known that it’s against the law to do that and it’s actually theft, I wouldn’t have done it,” he said. He went on to explain his ignorance of the law by saying he doesn’t like getting involved in elections and doesn’t “keep up with all the rules”.
When asked whether he is concerned that his actions may cause irreparable harm to McKortoff’s campaign, St. Louis said: “I am very, very concerned and also about Janis’ reputation because she is the organizer of Music in the Park.” He also expressed concern about potential repercussions around his wife’s work on the Music in the Park should Sikora win office.
Meanwhile, late on Wednesday night, Sikora released a one-page statement decrying the actions of St. Louis and suggesting that all official community involvement by him and his wife should end because of this breach of law.
Aside from being the Coordinator for Osoyoos Music in the Park, Janis St. Louis is President of the Osoyoos Farmers’ Market. In addition, Sikora notes that Marcel St. Louis is a paid employee of the market.
“Should a member of my team be caught committing such acts, efforts to protect the public trust from being damaged would be made,” said Sikora in his letter.
“All ties with their official community involvement would be severed and I would offer a public statement condemning their actions, even if it was a close personal friend. While embarrassing and painful, this is the duty of a leader.”
The leader of the Osoyoos First slate goes further taking aim at the fact that St. Louis are close personal friends of McKortoff.
“This social circle has fought very hard during the election to keep their status intact. However, committing criminal activity is over the top. I am disappointed and now left with even more questions than answers,” Sikora pens.
It’s unclear what impact this will have on the election due to what appears to have been a high turnout in the early voting over the past two weeks. Also unclear is how Osoyoos voters will interpret this fracas.
The Times Chronicle received a number of highly polarized emails throughout the day and late into the night, incensed on one hand by what they see as heavy-handed tactics by Sikora and his bid to directly link the issue to McKortoff, and on the other hand equally angered by the illegal tampering with election signs.
This is not the first time sign tampering has been an issue in Osoyoos with former Mayor Stu Wells and his wife Marth Collins caught on video removing signs from private property on Anarchist Mountain in 2014, an incident that was dubbed “signgate”.
