A pair of top officials are departing the Greens as financial strain and internal strife proceed to take a toll on the party ahead of a probable election this yr.
Leader Annamie Paul’s interim chief of staff Phil Spidle was laid off by party brass last week, the newest casualty in cuts which have halved the Green staff, in keeping with two senior sources who weren’t authorized to talk publicly about payroll matters.
Spidle, who headed Paul’s leadership campaign last yr and worked with the Greens for the past twenty years, was on paid leave throughout the summer while he engaged in drawn-out negotiations for a contract to develop into national campaign director.
The talks were with Doug Tingey, who oversaw the party purse strings until the last couple days, when he abruptly stepped down — the second major departure in lower than every week.
Tingey, who was re-elected to a two-year term last month as president of the Green Party of Canada Fund, said in an interview Monday it was “an appropriate time” to resign, but declined to supply a reason.
“I’d like them to get through what they’re going through at this point.”
He has said the Greens’ financial situation isn’t sustainable, with party executives opting to withhold $250,000 in funding earmarked for Paul’s riding campaign in Toronto Centre, in keeping with 4 party sources.
The party is poised to shell out a whole lot of hundreds of dollars on legal battles with Paul, heightening acrimony and worsening an already weak money balance regardless of increased year-over-year fundraising under her 10-month tenure.
At a gathering of the Greens’ federal council last month, executives of the party said it spent about $100,000 on legal fees in July, with one other $100,000 earmarked for legal expenditures in August, in keeping with two party sources not authorized to talk publicly on the matter.
The past weeks also saw Paul start an arbitration related to her employment contract and moves by party brass to oust her through a non-confidence vote and a membership suspension _ each were halted by the independent arbitrator.
In response, several senior officials launched a legal challenge on behalf of the party against Paul that questioned the arbitrator’s decision, racking up further costs.
The party has not been able to verify whether the leader will speak at its first general meeting in three years, which kicks off on Aug. 19, as power struggles and turmoil threaten to overshadow Green campaign efforts in an election expected in the following couple months.
