A Burnaby First candidate is defending his eligibility in next month’s municipal election after questions were raised regarding his status as a B.C. resident.
Matthew Hartney maintains he has lived in the province – more specifically Burnaby – for at least six months, a requirement to run for local government. While he was drawn out of the province for work the last few years, Hartney says he returned to B.C. by the April 8 cutoff and noted his lifelong roots in the city.
“Burnaby, the way I put it, is in my blood,” he told the NOW. “I’ve been a Canadian citizen my entire life – I’ve never not lived in Canada permanently.”
Hartney, 31, detailed his life in North Burnaby, living on Trinity Street while attending Gilmore Elementary and later Alpha Secondary. He later went to Alberta for junior hockey and studied accounting at Royal Military College in Ontario, but said he stayed connected to his hometown.
“Even when I played junior hockey or when I went to university outside the province, I was still a Burnaby resident,” he said. “You’re allowed to be a Burnaby resident, with good reason, if you’re leaving for temporary purposes.”
Questions surrounding his candidacy were raised recently after someone looked up Hartney’s employment history on LinkedIn, noting that he worked for the town of Huntsville, Ont. until May of this year. However, he said his last day on the job was April 1, with a settlement package stretching his employment by a month.
He said he was on the road the day after, returning to Burnaby prior to the April 8 candidacy cutoff.
“If I’ve already started my move back to B.C., when am I eligible to run as a councillor? On April 2, I was not eligible to run as a councillor in Ontario, (so) where am I eligible to run as a councillor in our nation?”
Hartney said he’s not sure who raised concerns about his eligibility, but noted he had no issues with the election office when he filed his papers.
“I’m a very up front, very honest person – it was one of the first things I made sure to address with Burnaby First with their vetting process,” he said. “Everything’s been filed correctly and legitimately.”
Furthermore, in the case his eligibility was brought up by a member of the incumbent Burnaby Citizens Association, Hartney questioned why they wouldn’t have formally submitted their concern by the challenge period’s Oct. 14 deadline.
“If they were so concerned, why didn’t they just challenge my eligibility and follow the correct process? These people have been elected officials for a long time, they’re very familiar with the process of how to challenge candidates... so why didn’t they just do it that way?”
