De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - In the Agenda published on Friday Jan 22, 2021 for the SRD meeting of Weds Jan 27th, 2021 can be found a couple of items of interest to Cortes Islanders. For item N.1 (Cortes Island Assent Voting Bylaws), all sub-items have been postponed indefinitely. But more dramatic developments are found in section M (Staff Reports) item 1, “Director Anderson — Insider Influence.”
Attached to Item M.1 is a staff report dated January 21st and signed by David Leitch, CAO, with several documentary attachments. The Board is requested to “consider the process for deciding whether to pursue allegations of insider influence in relation to Director Anderson’s December 17, 2020 communication with a staff member as it pertains to a proposed subdivision of land co-owned by her and located on Cortes Island.”
In order to place this document in context, we will have to review some history rapidly receding in the rear-view mirror.
Aftermath of the Regional District Elections in 2018
Ms Anderson narrowly won the Area B election for Regional Director in October 2018. Immediately after the election, political opponents made allegations whose apparent intent was to overturn the result of the election — by disqualifying voters, or by disqualifying Ms Anderson herself from serving a further term.
Disqualification of voters was attempted very shortly after the results were announced, by means of a complaint filed with RCMP alleging “illegal voting” by 43 persons who did not meet residency requirements. RCMP did travel to the island to investigate, but found no case of any unqualified voter casting a ballot in October 2018.
Disqualification of Anderson as a Regional Director was attempted by means of a petition filed with the BC Supreme Court by 13 residents of Cortes Island. This petition, which showed signs of hasty composition and little or no fact-checking, was dismissed as “without merit” in June 2020 by agreement of both counsels. While Currents has been informed of a story in circulation that the litigation was “settled” (i.e. Anderson paid or otherwise persuaded the plaintiffs to abandon their case), there seems to be as little substance to this story as the court found in the original allegations.
Unknown to most Cortes Islanders at the time was a third incident affecting the newly re-elected Director. Only a few days after the election, a complaint was filed with SRD regarding zoning violations on the land on Whaletown Road where Anderson lives, which she co-owns with five other land partners.
Zoning complaints are rare on Cortes Island, if we discount the occasional skirmishes over shellfish leases and their use of mechanical equipment. A land-based zoning complaint is very unusual; Cortes Island has a long tradition of “live and let live” — which is one reason why people come here. This is not the kind of suburban community where neighbours eagerly keep watch over their fences for the slightest infraction. Local resident Kristen Scholfield-Sweet says, “I cannot think, in my 28 +/- years on the APC, of an instance where a neighbour filed a complaint against a neighbour in an unprovoked situation.”
Read more at https://cortescurrents.ca/srd-contemplates-further-litigation-against-noba-anderson/
