With just one week to go before nominations officially open Sept. 1, no one has yet come forward to challenge the incumbents in this fall’s Canadian Wheat Board director elections.
All five sitting directors in the odd-numbered electoral districts that are holding elections have said they’re planning to run again.
But as of last week, no one else had publicly declared their candidacy.
By contrast, in the last election four years ago, nine challengers had declared their intentions to run by the end of August.
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The Western Producer contacted four of the five candidates who finished second in that 2002 election. Three said they hadn’t decided whether to try again, while one is definitely not running.
Still on the fence are: Albert Wagner, who finished second to Art Macklin with 46 percent of the vote in District 1; Greg Porozni, who emerged from an eight-man field in District 5 to finish second behind Allen Oberg with 47 percent of the vote; and Mike Halyk, who was unseated in District 7 by Dwayne Anderson, also garnering 47 percent of the vote.
Buck Spencer, who lost to incumbent Larry Hill in District 3 four years ago with 40 percent of the vote, said his electioneering days are behind him.
“I’m almost 70 years old,” he said with a chuckle, adding that his farming activities now are limited to occasionally driving a truckload of grain to the elevator for his kids, who now own the family farm near Lethbridge.
He said he hasn’t yet heard any names bandied about as potential challengers to Hill.
Jim Downey, who was second to Bill Nicholson in District 9 last time around, could not be reached for comment.
Spencer, who supports moving to an open market for wheat and barley, said he expects single desk supporters will be much more motivated in this election than their opponents.
“They’ve got their backs against the wall and they’re fighting for their lives,” he said, adding he believes it’s a futile fight.
“I think the government is determined to go ahead anyway and make the changes.”
Wagner, a longtime critic of the CWB monopoly, agreed, saying there’s no point campaigning on the single desk issue because the government’s mind is made up.
“I know hard-core single desk supporters think that if they have a strong showing they can convince the government otherwise, but it’s not going to happen,” he said.
Instead of debating the single desk issue, farmers should elect directors who are prepared to work with Ottawa to ensure an orderly transition to an open market and to restructure the board so it can prosper in an open market environment.
As far as he knows there hasn’t been any discussion among open market proponents of organizing a slate of candidates, but that could happen.
Porozni, who was the lone open marketer in an eight-man contest in District 5, said if he does run again he hopes there are a number of open marketers in the race.
“More pro-choice candidates will bring out more pro-choice voters,” he said.
He’s surprised that more open market supporters haven’t take advantage of the publicity and momentum created by the government plans to declare their candidacy.
“You’d think there’d be a lot of interest on both sides,” he said. “I’m concerned about voter apathy, it’s been so quiet.”
He said it’s important to have competitive races and to elect people who are competent, business-oriented and willing to work co-operatively with the federal government to make changes to the board.
Halyk said he has been encouraged by a number of farmers to run again, but he’s leery about taking the time and trouble to get back on the board if the government is going to dismantle the marketing agency in six months.
“It’s terrible that we’re going into this election and the directors and candidates don’t know if it will be business as usual or if they’ll be powerless,” he said.
Halyk added that regardless of whether he runs, he hopes single desk supporters mount a vigorous campaign.
He also thinks the federal government is using the CWB debate to divert attention from the real issue, which is the income crisis in agriculture, particularly the grains and oilseeds sector.
