Controversy over fire hall a top issue in West St. Paul mayoral race
Vera-Lynn Kubinec and Gosia Sawicka | CBC News | Posted: October 16, 2014 3:01 AM | Last Updated: October 16, 2014
Candidate under investigation for conflict of interest; incumbent fears for his safety
A controversial $3 million fire hall project in West St. Paul is playing a role as two men vie for the mayor’s seat.
One candidate, incumbent mayor Bruce Henley, said he thinks it may have even played a part after he was attacked last year.
The other candidate, Coun. Dan Garcea, is under investigation by the Manitoba Ombudsman, who is looking at whether conflict of interest laws and regulations were properly followed.
CBC News has learned the ombudsman initiated the investigation to determine whether there was a conflict of interest in the actions of Garcea pertaining to all tenders and proposals submitted to the rural municipality by S&J Construction or the Garcea Group of Companies, "of which Garcea is/was an employee."
Garcea told CBC News he cannot comment in detail on the investigation as it was handled as a confidential matter by council, but says “I welcome it.”
“Everything was done above board,” Garcea said when asked about allegations of conflict of interest surrounding the fire hall.
“Not only is it an embarrassment, it’s been stressful and it’s sad. It’s sad for the residents of West St. Paul to have to deal with this,” he said.
The ombudsman is also scrutinizing the actions of the Rural Municipality of West St. Paul pertaining to the tenders for the fire hall project.
Still no arrests in attack last year
It is the same controversial project the current mayor blames for a brutal assault a year ago.
Oct. 16 marks the one year anniversary of the unsolved attack on West St. Paul Mayor Bruce Henley.
Henley said he remembers stepping out of his home in the early morning hours and facing an ambush by two men armed with clubs.
“As I came out across my driveway, two individuals came running through the bushes," he said. "They were wearing bandanas covering the better part of their faces. They were wearing hoodies. They were dressed in black, and immediately I realized I was coming under attack.”
An RCMP spokesperson told CBC News that officers are still working “very hard” on the file and cannot release any details.
Two men were arrested shortly after the attack, but they were released. RCMP said no charges have been laid.
Henley said he did not know his attackers. He believes the two strangers targeted him because of council’s decisions around the controversial fire hall project last September.
His opponent in the race for mayor, Coun. Garcea, dismissed that idea.
“That is completely ridiculous,” Garcea said.
Conflict of interest concerns first raised last year
In the weeks before the attack, concerns over conflict of interest surrounding the fire hall project were brought before the RM's council.
Garcea’s brother, John Garcea, became the volunteer expert on an ad hoc committee tasked with pre-qualifying trades, determining timelines and preparing budgets for the construction of the fire hall.
“The R.M. sought out an individual volunteer from a professional firm to work with the Council appointed Ad Hoc Committee. An ad was placed in the paper and the only response was from John Garcea of S&J Construction,” states an administrative report on the fire hall project.
John Garcea operates several construction companies, including S & J Construction.
In February of 2013, the RM of West St. Paul awarded another company, Subterranean (Manitoba) Ltd., a $1.24 million tender to get the structure started.
Days later, Subterranean wrote the RM stating S&J Construction would be the concrete subcontractor for the fire hall project, something that was not listed on a tender form.
“This occurred in error prior to the submission of the tender,” Subterranean stated in the letter.
John Garcea remained the volunteer consultant for the fire hall project while his company worked to get the structure built until the ad hoc committee was disbanded by the RM, amidst the concerns raised last fall.
Coun. Garcea was one of two councillors who voted against disbanding the committee.
Residents asking questions
Henley brought some of the complaints forward and said he was asked questions by people in the community.
“'Who was involved in the project? How were they involved? And were they in a conflict of interest?'” were among the questions they asked, said Henley.
“'Who was involved in the project? How were they involved? And were they in a conflict of interest?'” were among the questions they asked, said Henley.
As for Coun. Garcea, he believes no conflict exists.
“My brother [John] volunteered his free services to help make this project possible with the limited funds available," he said. "There is no conflict here other than philanthropy and someone trying to use this against me to gain the upper hand in the election. This election is getting messy and we're down to the last week so people are getting desperate,” Garcea wrote in an email to CBC News.
The Manitoba Ombudsman’s office would not comment on an ongoing investigation.
CBC News could not reach anyone from the Garcea Group of Companies for comment.
Henley said as he’s been campaigning, people continue asking about the attack he faced.
And one of Henley’s election signs appears to have been blasted with a shotgun. Several smaller signs were also vandalized. Henley believes he is being targeted today as he was one year ago to “send a message.”
Henley said the attack made staff at the West St. Paul municipal office fearful about their own safety. The community installed cameras in a number of municipal buildings after the assault.
He called the experience terrifying, but said quitting his job as mayor is not an option.
“Had I packed up and said that’s it, what kind of message would that send to this community?" [It’s] really not appropriate that I walk away. I wasn’t brought up that way,” he said.
Dan Garcea said he too has had problems with election campaign signs being vandalized, knocked down, and driven over by a vehicle, indicating it’s been a difficult campaign.
In his campaign material, Garcea talked about people in the community urging him to run for mayor.
“My wife and I raise our four children in West St. Paul and I am completely invested in this community,” said Garcea on his electoral website. “My decision to run for mayor wasn’t an easy one, but I was humbled by how many residents - both inside and out of the ward - asked me to challenge for the mayor’s seat.”
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