Election defection proves no coup

It seems rather remarkable that Opikokew should be made NDP campaign manager immediately after defecting from the Liberals. The NDP must be having troubles recruiting staff! Anyway it seems that his tenure as manager did not outlast the revelation of his credentials.

Election defection proves no coup
Janet French, The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2007
A Liberal candidate hopeful who announced with fanfare Monday he was defecting to support the NDP was kicked off the Liberal roster for hiding criminal charges he's facing, the Liberals say.

Late Monday afternoon, the NDP issued a news release saying Nathan Opikokew, who was to run as the Liberal candidate in the northwestern riding of Athabasca, had decided instead to become Buckley Belanger's campaign manager. Belanger is the NDP's minister of community resources and is up for re-election in Athabasca.

The Saskatchewan Liberals' director of communications, Michel Liboiron, said Opikokew didn't quit -- they told him he couldn't run after research into his background revealed he was in trouble with the law.


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Font:****"We deemed it inappropriate to pursue the candidacy of Mr. Opikokew," Liboiron said, adding Opikokew was never officially nominated as the Liberal candidate in the riding.

RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Tammy Patterson said Opikokew, 22, has made several court appearances after police charged him with assault with a weapon and mischief. Patterson didn't know any details about the incident that led to the charges. Beauval RCMP are investigating, she said.

Liboiron said when Opikokew first wanted to be a Liberal candidate in the Nov. 7 provincial election, the party's election readiness team asked him if any problems in his background would affect his ability to be a candidate, and he said no.

The Liberals learned of Opikokew's charges Wednesday, Liboiron said, and on Thursday, told him he could not run as a candidate. The party did not appreciate him providing misleading information, Liboiron said.

"If the NDP wants Mr. Opikokew's services as a campaign manager for one of their candidates then it's entirely up to them," Liboiron said.

Contacted at his Ile-a-la-Crosse home Monday night, Belanger said Opikokew contacted him "out of the blue" on Sunday wanting to join his campaign. Belanger offered him a job as campaign manager.

Belanger said he rescinded that job offer Monday evening when he learned of Opikokew's legal troubles. When he called Opikokew to find out what those troubles were, the man told him they were "minor in nature."

"It was discouraging," Belanger said. "The fact that he didn't disclose that information to me at the outset, it did not preclude itself to having a good relationship with him."

Belanger is on the hunt for a new campaign manager now, and it's unlikely Opikokew will be involved in his re-election campaign, he said. Belanger said he does not know what happened to prompt the charges.

In light of the Liberals' campaigning on accountability, Belanger said he wants to know why the Liberals did not disclose last week the reason they removed Opikokew from the roster.

Opikokew did not respond to messages left for him Monday.

Earlier Monday, in his brief tenure as Belanger's campaign manager, Opikokew said in a news release unity between people of the North and finding new ways to support youth were his priorities.

"I made my decision to join the NDP team because I believe they are the best party to help the North move forward, and to ensure that our people share in the economic prosperity Saskatchewan continues to enjoy."

Belanger was first elected in the Athabasca riding in 1995 as a Liberal candidate. He later defected to the NDP, and regained his seat as a New Democrat in a 1998 byelection.

jfrench@sp.canwest.com