The mayor of Lumby who at one point hoped to win his local riding under the BC United banner is now taking the defunct party to court over campaign expenses he says the party failed to reimburse him for.
Kevin Acton was formerly in his home riding of Vernon-Lumby for the 2024 B.C. provincial election. When the party suspended its campaign and threw its weight behind the B.C. Conservatives in late August, less than two months before the election, Acton told The Morning Star he was ready to run under the Conservative banner should John Rustad's party choose to run with him.
When the Conservatives instead chose to parachute Dennis Giesbrecht into the riding, and ended up finishing third in the election with 15 per cent of the vote.
Now that the election dust has settled, Acton is taking BC United to small claims court, seeking $10,589.39 to cover expenses he paid out of pocket while campaigning for the party, plus $176 in court fees.
In the notice of civil claim filed on Monday, Jan. 20, Acton said he incurred expenses as a BC United candidate that the party hasn't reimbursed him for, nor has anyone been in contact with him to arrange a reimbursement.
"The fact that these expenses have not yet been repaid could put myself and the BC United party in contravention of the B.C. Elections Act," Acton wrote in the lawsuit.
Acton is not the only former BC United candidate who feels he's been left high and dry by the party. In September, White Rock councillor Ernie Klassen told Black Press Media he was seeking accounting for money he was owed by the party.
Klassen said at the time that he and other former BC United candidates were still out-of-pocket for campaign expenses they had incurred, for which they were supposed to be reimbursed by the party.
"We've been keeping in touch with each other, and there's a whole group of us that are still owed money," Klassen told Peace Arch News.
Speaking two weeks after BC United's shocking withdrawal from the election, Klassen called for an audit to be launched "so we can find out what happened to the money. Nobody seems to be able to give us answers."
In December, The CBC reported that BC United leader Kevin Falcon was in order to get the party out of a $1 million financial hole and avoid declaring bankruptcy and collapsing even further.
"The need is substantial 鈥� we must raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in the coming weeks to fulfill our obligations and ensure the party remains registered," The CBC reported, quoting a fundraising email sent out by the party.
Neither Acton nor the BC United Party immediately responded to requests for comment.
鈥� With files from Alex Browne
