Failed trustee candidate eyes lawsuit over actions by board chair, diocese

With city hall and the province passing the buck on the matter, a failed Windsor school trustee candidate said he’s now considering appealing to the courts to determine whether there was wrongful interference in the recent municipal elections.

“The rules are clear, and I want to make sure this never happens again,” said Eric Renaud, who lost a bid for the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board’s seat representing Windsor Wards 3 and 4 in the Oct. 22 civic vote. Renaud accuses the board’s chair, Barb Holland, and executive director Terry Lyons, as well as Diocese of London Bishop Ronald Fabbro, of targeting his candidacy by distributing a letter in the final days of the campaign urging Catholics to speak up and vote against candidates “suggesting either a merger of administrations of the two boards, or the complete elimination of publicly-funded Catholic education.”

Both Renaud and public board candidate and incumbent Alan Halberstadt were calling for the amalgamation of the two school board administrations, a move they suggested could save local taxpayers an estimated $6 million a year.

Renaud cried foul over the letter — read from the pulpit of at least one local church on the Sunday before voting day — and lodged a complaint with the city, arguing that education leaders and the diocese had engaged in third-party campaigning that should be forbidden.

Holland said she and the board “were not meddling in the election process,” but rather engaging with the community. Dave Cooke, a former Ontario education minister, said, however, they “absolutely crossed a line.”

The city clerk’s office forwarded Renaud’s call for an investigation to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Chuck Scarpelli, Windsor’s manager of elections, said the province has informed the city that, “if a candidate or any eligible voter felt the election wasn’t valid,” or alleged any impropriety, that that party could apply to the Superior Court of Justice for remedy.

Unlike with allegations of possible campaign financial or spending irregularities, which can be investigated by the city’s compliance audit committee, Scarpelli said the clerk’s office does not have authority under the Municipal Act to investigate such allegations of third-party meddling. Renaud said he’s been told by two different law firms that filing an application with the Superior Court and arguing the matter before a judge could cost between $5,000 and $10,000. “Something like this needs to be looked at by government and not the candidates,” said Renaud, whose 560 votes saw him run second to incumbent Bernard Mastromattei (990 votes). Anyone complaining about election improprieties has 90 days from an election to file a complaint with the court. Renaud said he’ll decide whether to proceed “within the next couple of weeks.” Meanwhile, he’s filed a Freedom of Information application with the Catholic school board for all communications between Holland, Lyons, the board and the diocese on the issue of amalgamation, as well as for any invoices for legal work completed for the board in the months leading up to the election.

Renaud has also asked the Canada Revenue Agency to investigate, alleging the board and diocese, as tax-exempt charities, should not have gotten themselves politically involved in the election.

“I’m doing this for the public interest,” he said Thursday.

Something like this needs to be looked at by government and not the candidates. ERIC RENAUD