The former Conservative candidate for Kelowna-Mission says she declined an offer of $20,000 to switch constituencies before being ousted and replaced by another candidate hoping to secure a seat in the B.C. Legislature this fall.
On Aug. 9, the Conservative Party of B.C. publicly confirmed that it had dropped Alexandra Wright as candidate following a decision made 24 hours prior. The party then announced on Aug. 14 that Gavin Dew, who ran for the BC Liberal Party's leadership in 2022, would be the Conservative's new candidate instead.
Wright said Conservative leader John Rustad came to her farm in mid-July – weeks before she was dropped from the party – for what she thought was a discussion about her future in politics.
"I was excited to talk with him," Wright said.
In an interview with Black Press Media, she said she instead received the offer to switch to the riding of Vernon-Lumby, where the party is still looking for a candidate. As part of the offer to move to Vernon, Wright said the riding association would receive $20,000 from the party to pay for campaign expenses.
"I was shocked," Wright said. She added that she has never heard of anyone getting money for switching ridings and felt offended when the offer was presented to her.
"I presume when I declined, the party decided I was a liability."
Wright said she didn't take the offer to leave for three reasons.
First, said she is not as familiar with the community of Vernon as she is with Kelowna. She said Vernon is lovely, but it is not her home and does not resonate with her. The second, she said, is that her supporters, who have been fundraising and door knocking with her over the past months, all work out of Kelowna. Finally, Wright said she declined because she knew the person – Dew – whom the party had chosen to take her spot.
Wright said she won the race to represent the "riding fair and square" and has been working diligently to make the Conservatives competitive in the Kelowna-Mission.
The party said its decision to end Wright's candidacy came after careful consideration of various factors related to campaign "performance and conduct" and "remains committed to upholding the highest standards of performance and conduct for all its candidates to ensure effective representation and success in the upcoming elections."
Wright confirmed the party told her she was fired because of poor "performance and conduct" but added that the party did not give her any examples of misconduct or warnings about her behaviour.
When announcing Dew's appointment, Rustad stated that there is a need for "urgent and strong leadership," in B.C.
Wright, who is a lawyer, she she "takes offence" to claims that her conduct was out of line. "I do not like when people discredit me," she said.
BC United's Renee Merrifield, MLA for Kelowna-Mission, which is the centre of the controversy, spoke out about the offer and candidate swap on August 16.
In a statement, Merrifield accused Rustad of "unethical behaviour" that "only casts doubt on his party's internal operations but also erodes public trust" in the political process.
Anthony Koch, spokesperson for the BC Conservatives, addressed Merrifield's comments, calling it a "baseless accusation" against Rustad.
"Not only false but a blatant misrepresentation" Koch said.
"To be clear: Mr. Rustad simply suggested to Alexandra Wright that if she would consider switching ridings, the party would support her with a $20,000 transfer of funds from the central campaign to her local campaign in the new riding," Koch said. "This was about fostering success, supporting her and the local campaign to get started, and to help with the costs associated with buying new literature, new lawn signs (and so on)."
Black Press Media also requested comment from Elections BC about the $20,000 offer, but has not yet received a response. In a statement to the Vancouver Sun, Elections BC said the Election Act “does not prohibit a party from offering a (monetary) transfer to a candidate as an incentive for the candidate to switch ridings.”
Wright, who also owns a farm, was speaking to Black Press Media while at a horse riding competition in Alberta, where she was helping her daughter.
"It's really nice to be scooping actual horse-sh*t this week," Wright said about the dichotomy between her role at the riding competition and how she feels about the past few weeks since the Conservatives dropped her.
