Earlier, we reported on Greg Elzinga and Jeff Melland's plans to "improve democracy, accountability and transparency" within the Non-Partisan Association by introducing a package of bylaw amendments at the civic party's upcoming annual general meeting.. Those amendments were inspired by the brouhaha that broke out in January when Doug Leung and Colin Metcalfe were appointed to that august body via email. Those appointments happened without directors waiting for comment from then president Paul Barbeau. But, in an email sent to Public Eye, Alex Tsakumis takes issue with our characterization that Mr. Barbeau wasn't consulted. And he goes onto note "the notion that the appointment of two excellent (sic) Directors like Messrs. Metcalfe and Leung was done to usurp the President's authority by not concuslting (sic) him first, is a bold faced lie." The following is a complete copy of that email.

From: A.G. Tsakumis
Sent: 23 March 2006 10:26
To: editorial@publiceyeonline.com
Subject: Operation Enduring Correction(s)!

Sean:

You continue to do a disservice to your readers by allowing the lie to continue that Paul Barbeau was not consulted regarding the appointments to the NPA Board of Colin Metcalfe and Douglas Leung.

1) Paul Barbeau received every single email that everyone else on the Board received regarding Director appointments and was thus notified appropriately and according to the rules governing the Board.

2) Paul Barbeau knew of the movement to appoint Doug Leung and Colin Metcalfe to the Board as early in the process of doing so as November 22, 2005. He was informed by a member of the Board accordingly, on that date, that this was a motion that would be then forthcoming sometime in the new year.

3) Paul Barbeau, himself, during the election had sent "last minute" motions by email to the Board, some of which passed and some which did not. The idea that this was done as a "new" method of passing motions between Board Meetings is incorrect. The genesis of these email motions was Greg Wilson, our previous Secretary, who quite correctly tried to streamline the business of the Board. Not one member of the Board, either at that time, nor since, raised any problems with that process (until it didn't suit one former member politically and she resigned because of it). A very few members raised this issue as a problem in the aftermath of Paul Barbeau's resignation as President of the NPA. The vast majority were comfortable in their decision(s).

Therefore, the notion that the appointment of two excellent Directors like Messrs. Metcalfe and Leung was done to usurp the President's authority by not concuslting him first, is a bold faced lie.

Please refrain from repeating that lie. You have done so in various postings, several times since January, and it does no good to the credibility of what you write, nor does it honour what I assume you should still covet, the truth.

I wish you continued success.

Kind regards,

A.G. (Alex) Tsakumis
Director,
Civic Non-Partisan Association