UNEXPECTED RESIGNATION
Speaker, MLAs remaining mum on why Gary McLeod has quit
P.E.I. chief electoral officer resigns, but Speaker, MLAs remain mum on why Gary McLeod has quit
P.E.I.’s chief electoral officer, Gary McLeod, has resigned.
House Speaker Buck Watts advised the province’s 27 MLAs of McLeod’s sudden resignation by email Monday morning. The Guardian obtained a copy of this email shortly after it was sent out.
“Please be advised that Mr. Gary McLeod, chief electoral officer of Prince Edward Island since January, 2013, has advised me of his intention to resign and to move on to new pursuits,” Watts states in his email, offering no further explanation for McLeod’s departure.
The Guardian’s attempted to reach McLeod Monday were unsuccessful. A communications staffer for the legislative assembly said Watts would have nothing further to add on the issue.
Indeed, no one would offer any indication at all on the record about why McLeod vacated his position so suddenly.
Meanwhile, Marian Johnston, who has worked in the legislative clerk’s office for a number of years, has been named acting chief electoral officer by the province’s Standing Committee on Legislative Management. She begins her new job today.
According to the rules of the P.E.I. legislature, the chief and deputy chief electoral officers are normally appointed by a vote of the legislative assembly on the advice of the legislative management committee. It must pass with no less than two-thirds of the house. Since the house is not currently in session, a vote cannot be held until the house reconvenes in the fall.
Legislative management is a powerful standing committee that includes members of all three elected parties in P.E.I. However, all of its meetings are held in camera, which means any discussions that occur during any meetings cannot be disclosed.
Green Leader Peter BevanBaker says he knows offering no details about why McLeod resigned only serves to stoke the fires of speculation about the reasons behind this unusual move. But, breaking in camera confidentiality is not something Bevan-Baker is prepared to do.
“I had a good working relationship with Gary and I appreciated what he did, particularly around his recommendations following the provincial election. It was a pretty comprehensive list of suggestions,” Bevan-Baker said.
“But I just feel I cannot talk about the discussions that we had (at legislative management).”
McLeod made 38 recommendations for changes to the P.E.I. Elections Act following the 2015 election, including that the coin toss to decide a tied vote should be eliminated and that a tie should instead trigger a byelection.
So far no changes have been made to the Elections Act and no work has been done to implement any of McLeod’s recommendations.
Prior to his resignation, which became effective June 1, McLeod has not made any public statements indicating any intentions of leaving his position at Elections P.E.I. His most recent annual report to the P.E.I. legislature was tabled in early May.
Watts ended his email by asking all MLAs to wish Johnston best wishes in her new role as acting chief electoral officer, expressing his believe that she is “an excellent choice for this role and will do a fantastic job.”
Her position as clerk assistant and clerk of committees at the legislative assembly will remain vacant for the duration of her assignment at Elections P.E.I.