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Dona a goner?

Author: John P Egan (Independent)

1 Oct

As part of Radio One’s coverage of the federal election, candidates from Surrey North were invited to a live discussion/debate this morning. Candidates from the Greens, Grits and NDP were in attendance; Tory candidate Dona Cadman was not.

For those unfamiliar, Cadman is the widow of Chuck Cadman. Chuck led a grassroots movement here in BC to update the Young Offender’s Act after their son was murdered by another youth. When the Reform Party was gathering steam out West, Chuck was one of a number of locally respected activists who were recruited for their hard work. And populist appeal.

Chuck served in Parliament from 1993 until his death from cancer in 2005. Over those 12 years he was a Reform, Alliance, and ultimately independent MP. When the right merged into the current Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Cadman lost the CPC nomination–but easily won as an independent. Many outside BC first became aware of him when he voted with the Martin Liberals to prevent an election a few months before his death.

Dona Cadman endorsed her friend Penny Priddy for the NDP in the last election and Priddy won easily; Dona’s support no doubt helped, but Priddy has been a powerful and popular figure for years.

Dona has also alleged the Harper Tories tried to “buy” Chuck’s support in Parliament, offering inducements such as a life insurance policy. I’ve no idea about these allegations’ credibility. But I do know this: Dona is now the candidate for the very party she accused of being unethical. Bizarre. Priddy has declined to run for re-election as well, making Surrey North all the more interesting.

Dona’s either been Harped into a muzzle or has decided to avoid reporters. She did do an all-candidates meeting last night though. But her communication skills and lack of a populist bent are almost anathema to her husband. Or….she went for the nomination to sabotage Harper. Haven’t seen any polls yet, but the buzz is, the Tories are out of this one already.

Will the NDP hold the seat? Will it be a Liberal pick-up? Or will vote splitting between the 2 hand it to the Invisible Womanâ„¢? Oooooh…..exciting!

Filed under: All Candidates Meetings, British Columbia, Fraser Valley / South Lower Mainland, John P Egan (Independent), Local Campaigns

One Response for "Dona a goner?"

Whiskey Echo (N. Van, unaffiliated Canadian nationalist) October 1st, 2008 at 4:15 pm 1
It’s a shame that Dona Cadman ran with the Conservatives, after what they did to her husband. He was one of the few Reform guys I thought was worthy of respect. He had been a good asset for them for many years, then they dumped him because he wasn’t trendy enough for them – but he won anyways. Then they came crawling back with that dirty bribe. I’m sure that the reason he voted against them anyways was in disgust at the Conservatives’ conduct. What I cannot figure out is why Dona put her name along with theirs – she has said is because she wants to do something about youth crime. But it’s clear that under Harper, her role will be little more than a blue scarecrow (as with Ablonczy, Oda, and Ambrose), whereas she might have been able to take the riding as an independent.

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