By Richard Peachey.

The slogan of the AbbotsfordFirst slate is:

Leadership. Accountability. Respect.

Notice that “Accountability” holds the place of honour in the centre of the slogan.

Now the star candidate of AbbotsfordFirst is Vince Dimanno. But ironically, he wants nothing to do with accountability.

In his campaign advertising Vince Dimanno gives huge prominence to his work with the ARA:

Vince Dimanno is currently the President of the Abbotsford Ratepayers Association. . . . He has appeared on GlobalTV, CBC, CKNW, CBC Radio and in The Vancouver Sun and The Province where he has been asked to provide the taxpayer’s perspective on nearly every major issue facing Abbotsford in the last 6 years.

But on Oct. 11 Vince Dimanno wrote a column on Abbotsford Today (of which he is a co-owner) admitting that the Abbotsford Ratepayers Association (of which he is president) is a dissolved society, and he offered a time and reason for the dissolution:

The Society itself was dissolved by the Provincial Registry last year, but not due to a lack of activity. It was due to our inability to meet the minimum requirements of Directors to conform to the Society Act.

The time Vince stated is wrong. The ARA was actually dissolved on April 13, 2012 (two and a half years ago). See the recent Abbotsford News exposé.

The reason Vince offered is also wrong. The ARA was actually dissolved because of non-filing of annual reports. The filing of these legally required reports had never been done since the ARA’s initial registration with the BC Registry in 2008. Again, see the Abbotsford News exposé.

Vince does not want to be held accountable for these untrue statements. Nor does he want to be held accountable for bungling his presidency of the ARA. (The filing of those legally required reports was ultimately his responsibility.) Vince appears to want the glory of the presidency but not the work. The main function of the ARA today is simply to enhance Vince Dimanno’s attempt to get onto Abbotsford Council.

Vince stated that “his role as president continues as he maintains records” but he could not even tell the Abbotsford News when the ARA last held a meeting. Since being challenged, he (or a colleague) has made multiple changes to the ARA website with the apparent purpose of obscuring the truth that meetings are not being held. When asked probing questions about the ARA, Vince either tries to laugh it off as a non-issue, or he postures as if taking personal offense.

So often has Vince threatened legal action that I’m tempted to suggest he be called “the Boy Named Sue”. (See the Abbotsford News exposé.)

Vince Dimanno is certainly not a good example of “Accountability.” Nor of “Leadership,” for that matter. Nor “Respect” either.

Why in the world do the other AbbotsfordFirst candidates put up with him?