One final Hail Mary

Vassilaki complaint borders on ludicrous

It’s unfortunate that after a 30-day campaign and a decisive outcome that a phantom complainer and news agency have chosen to vilify Mayor-Elect John Vassilaki. At issue, apparently, is that Vassilaki was spotted shaking hands at the South Main Drop In Centre where he voted at an advanced poll, two days before the election. Critics say he’s been caught on video — Penticton’s answer to the Zapruder film.

The file has been handed over to the RCMP. It sounds sinister, but when someone lodges a complaint about anything, an RCMP file is created.

Candidates are allowed to vote. Vassilaki was accompanied by his wife and mother. Mama Vassilaki clearly has mobility issues and requires some assistance from a family member.

If Vassilaki was spotted in the crowd by admirers, who reached their hand out to offer best wishes, where was city staff to tell him to quit or to usher he and his family to the front of the line? Was the election staff not paying attention?

If this is anyone’s fault, it’s city staff’s fault.

In federal elections, the leaders vote. Is it possible that in Calgary in 2015, someone recognized Prime Minister Stephen Harper and reached out to shake his hand? Or rock star Justin Trudeau when he and his wife went to vote?

What are popular candidates to do? Punch, spit or swear?

Did nobody say “hello” or “good luck” to mayoral opponents Andrew Jakubeit and Jason Cox, or any of the 24 people running for a position on Penticton City Council?

If there’s a learning experience here, perhaps candidates should come at a special time to vote ... let’s say between 8:30 and 9 a.m. before the polls open.

Vassilaki will be told he’s done nothing wrong. Complaints about elections are often investigated (Summerland 2008, lawn signs on the back of Helena Konanz’s vehicle, Kelowna signage being placed in wrong locations), but never result in punishments.

It appears to be a final Hail Mary from a person or persons unhappy with the election’s outcome.

What’s ironic is the 2014 municipal election in Penticton was perhaps the worst-organized election in B.C. (huge line-ups, no ballot box for the seniors home, etc.). Yet Vassilaki, who lost the mayoral race to Jakubeit, accepted the final outcome and never complained.

A question that we’d like answered is not if Vassilaki broke the rules by shaking a hand, but rather who laid the complaint?

— James Miller, Valley Editor