Opinion: MLA Tara Armstrong at least knows one of the leaders of the campaign to recall her. MLA Dallas Brodie should know if there’s more to an NDP connection to her own recall campaign
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VICTORIA — During a bitter exchange in the legislature last fall, Premier David Eby fully endorsed the recall of MLAs Dallas Brodie and Tara Armstrong, both elected as Conservatives in 2024.
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He accused the two — then both members of the upstart One B.C. party — of promoting an “unambiguously racist” backlash against Indigenous people.
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“It is reprehensible, disgusting, appalling. I’ve run out of words to describe what they’re trying to do,” Eby told the house Nov. 20. “I fully support any effort to recall these members, because there is not a chance that the people who voted for them had any idea about the agenda they would be advancing in this house.”
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Armstrong quit One B.C. over a staffing disagreement with Brodie, a few weeks after Eby’s tirade.
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Both MLAs are now targets of recall. Elections B.C. has already approved an application to unseat Brodie. The petition will be issued Thursday. As of Wednesday, the campaign against Armstrong was still in process.
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While the premier was not the only inspiration for recalling the two MLAs, his comment looms large in light of the initial secrecy surrounding the campaign against Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Brodie.
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The website for the Recall Dallas Brodie campaign claims that it is “a grassroots effort led by residents of Vancouver-Quilchena who believe our community deserves an MLA who is present, accountable, and focused on delivering for the riding.”
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Moreover, it says: “This initiative is not backed by any political parties.”
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The only address associated with the Brodie recall was a post office box for Mike Starchuk, the former NDP MLA now running for Surrey mayor. The financial agent for the Brodie recall campaign, Cindy Dalglish, is also the financial agent for Starchuk.
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The only other name associated with the Brodie recall is proponent Dorothy Cumming. Notwithstanding a Langley address, I’m told she lives in Vancouver-Quilchena.
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So far, she has not been available for media interviews. But I gather that is about to change.
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The Recall Brodie campaign has scheduled a Thursday news conference with Cumming, where she will “make a statement regarding her application for the recall petition to remove Dallas Brodie as the MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena.”
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Accredited media are invited to attend. “Additional speakers will be available on site.”
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The statement added: “Details of this media availability (including time and location) are provided in confidence and are not to be publicly disclosed, shared, or posted in advance.”
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That last bit may relate to a concern that the proponent and others could be subjected to abuse in person and online. But the secrecy has already cost them a week’s headstart since Elections B.C. approved the application May 14.
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Starting today, organizers have 60 days to gather the requisite number of signatures from people living in the riding and on the voters list.
