Cynicism kept voters away from byelections: electoral officer

Cynicism spinning out of Newfoundland and Labrador's legislative spending scandal prevented many would-be voters from casting ballots in three byelections Thursday, the province's chief electoral officer says.

"I think we're in an unprecedented time of gloom," Chuck Furey said Friday.

"There's a real, deep cynicism about the whole political system, and it's come about in the last year or so."

Furey was responding to low voter turnout in byelections Thursday, in which voters elected candidates from the governing Progressive Conservative party. All three of the districts— Ferryland, Kilbride and Port au Port— had been held by the PCs.

The byelections came in the wake of the latest disclosures from Auditor General John Noseworthy, who has been filing reports on spending at the house of assembly since last June.

Most recently, Noseworthy disclosed that a legislative committee in 2004 approved a raise in constituency allowances, and that vague language had been used in minutes to keep the decision secret. The raise— which did not require receipts —was made little more than a week after the legislature imposed a civil service wage freeze.

Last year, Noseworthy rocked political circles with reports that named five politicians from three political parties as having received about $1.6 million more than they were entitled in their constituency allowances.

Noseworthy also disclosed that about $2.6 million of legislative funds had been used to pay for things such as gold rings, lapel pins, fridge magnets and key chains.

Voters likely affected by disclosures

In January, Noseworthy revealed that two MHAs — Transportation Minister John Hickey and backbencher Kathy Goudie, who resigned her Humber Valley seat— had double-billed their constituency allowances.

Furey said the cumulative effect of the disclosures, which prompted police to open an investigation last summer,has likely had an effect on voters.

"It just seems to be one thing after another after another, after another, after another, and that piles on top of people," he told CBC News. "I'm sure it makes them cynical."

Turnout in Kilbride was likely affected by the widely held assumption that PC candidate John Dinn, a former St. John's councillor who took 78 per cent of votes cast, would win the district.

Resigned seat

Kilbride, though, was also the seat for 13 years of Ed Byrne, the first politician named in Noseworthy's investigations. Byrne was forced to quit cabinet as natural resources minister and government house leader last June, and then resigned his seat altogether effective Jan. 1.

Turnout was low in the other districts—45 per cent in Ferryland and 51 per cent in Port au Port.

Furey is no stranger to the political process, havingrepresented St. Barbe district as a Liberal between 1985 and 2001. He served as a cabinet minister in the Clyde Wells and Brian Tobin governments.

Fureynoted that the weather was excellent on Friday and would not have discouraged people from voting.

He added that Elections Newfoundland and Labrador had advertised the byelections widely.