People behind Regina election attack billboards won’t reveal who they are or who’s paying the bills

As Sandra Masters drove home from an all-candidate mayoral forum on the evening of Oct. 27, she was shocked to see a billboard aimed directly at her.

— Are you tired of this experience, Regina? asked the billboard, which featured a photo of Masters and two council members running for re-election, Bob Hawkins and Jason Mancinelli.

The first thing that caught the eye of Masters, who is seeking a second term in the Nov. 13 election, was the branding on the billboards: an anonymous group called Common Sense Regina.

“Social media took to the streets,” she recalls thinking. “You can put any pen and say whatever you want.”

Another Common Sense-branded billboard had three words written across her image: “Waste. Crime. Dysfunction”.

Masters noted that any ads she or any other candidate runs cannot be anonymous; it must indicate which candidate authorized it.

It’s also expensive. Masters said such billboards can cost thousands of dollars.

As a mayoral candidate, she cannot spend more than $76,000 on her campaign. Council members can spend a maximum of $12,600.

But Masters said the rules don’t stop anonymous groups from spending as much as they want.

“My guess is that they will have a mayoral candidate that they support,” Masters said in a Nov. 1 interview, although the billboards do not promote anyone in particular.

“It seems underhanded. A way to break the rules,” she said. “If you’re the candidate they support, you can stay completely clean.”

Alberta Representative

After the billboards went up last week, Common Sense Regina issued a press release naming a spokesperson: Peter McCaffrey. He lives in Alberta, where he runs the Alberta Institute, a libertarian think tank.

In an Oct. 31 interview, McCaffrey told CBC that the newly formed Common Sense network of organizations is working on municipal policy in 14 communities, including Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina.

He said the organizations are also libertarian, advocating for limited government focus on basic services rather than health care, education, social services or civil liberties. He claims the Regina organization has more than 2,000 supporters, activists and volunteers.

“As you can see on the billboards, what we really want is for the mayor and council to have more common sense after the election,” he said.

“We are not nominating any specific candidates. We just want people to think, ‘What is the job of municipal government?'”

Peter McCaffrey lives in Alberta, where he runs the Alberta Institute, a libertarian think tank. (CBC)

The group’s press release said City Hall should focus more attention on potholes and snow removal rather than on “flashy fringe projects.”

This isn’t the first anonymous advocacy group to weigh in on Regina’s upcoming election. Advance Regina also runs ads with a similar back-to-basics emphasis.

McCaffrey said Common Sense has nothing to do with Advance Regina. He said the leadership of the Regina chapter of Common Sense consists of about six people, but he would not say who they are or who funds the organization.

According to him, this is a matter of policy.

“I think it’s a sad reflection of the times we live in, but the reality is that people who put their names forward are opening themselves up to attack, and people are just not prepared to do that at this time,” he said. .

“Unfortunately, we live in an era where if you publicly express political views, you are subject to attacks and slander, and especially, depending on your industry, this can be very problematic.”

“Steeped in Irony”

Bob Hawkins, one of the council members targeted by the billboard, said in a Nov. 1 interview that McCaffrey’s response was “laced with irony.”

He said McCaffrey calls it “unfortunate” that people are attacked for their views, but speaks for a group that “only attacks and yet hides in the shadows.”

Ward 2 Count. Bob Hawkins (left) attends a City Council meeting on January 31, 2024. Hawkins is one of three candidates in the upcoming municipal election being targeted on billboards by an anonymous group. (Alexander Quon/CBC)

Hawkins said attacking a billboard is the opposite of good faith debate. He said he has never seen such negative advertising in a Regina election.

“There’s nothing common sense about their approach to politics,” Hawkins said, noting that Regina residents come to virtually every council meeting to express their views – and often their criticisms.

Residents “are willing to give their names and show their faces in the positions they take. It makes the debate easier,” Hawkins said.

On the contrary, “this kind of secrecy, this shrouding in shadows, does not allow for political debate, does not allow for fact-checking, does not allow for the avoidance of exaggeration,” he said.

“He also lacks courage.”

McCaffrey said it’s okay to publicly criticize candidates because they demand the authority to run the city and spend taxpayer money. He said it’s different for individuals.

“The alternative is really to silence people and deny them the opportunity to speak their minds,” he said.

“If he thinks our billboard saying it’s time for a common sense mayor and council is encouraging people to vote against him, I guess that means he thinks he’s not a common sense councilor?” McCaffery wrote in a text exchange with CBC.

We focus on 3 candidates

McCaffrey said he and his anonymous colleagues decided to feature Masters, Hawkins and Mancinelli on the billboard because they “symbolize the problems we saw in City Hall last term, and they are running again.”

“We’re not going to single out all the previous council members who aren’t even running anymore,” he said. “It wouldn’t make sense.”

Masters said she found it curious that she, Hawkins and Mancinelli were targeted while other officials were not.

“I guess the question is, who is not included?” she said.

The electronic billboard features photographs of Sandra Masters, Jason Mancinelli and Bob Hawkins. The billboard features the phrase: “Tired of this experience, Regina?” It’s time for a sane mayor and council.” (Will Draper/CBC)

CBC asked McCaffrey if he plans to go after other officials such as Laurie Bresciani, a former councilor now running for mayor, and councilors Terina Nelson and Shanon Zahidniak.

He said no.

“We don’t try to target specific candidates and their support and encourage people to vote for specific people. We’re trying to get people to think about City Hall as a whole,” McCaffrey said.

In a phone conversation, Terina Nelson said she was not supported or even approached by any outside group.

Shanon Zahidniak told CBC she had support from Regina and the county labor council. She said she was disappointed by these attacks on her colleagues, which she said could drive good people away from politics. She said she was embarrassed that some officials were being harassed while others like her were left alone.

Lori Bresciani said she has no affiliation with any outside group. She agreed to CBC’s request for an interview, but that call never materialized.

Unregistered non-profit organization

Hawkins said he was concerned that the anonymous group not only posted negative ads, but also collected data and money through its website.

“They want you to put your name on it and make a donation very quickly,” Hawkins said. “I believe these organizations will collect these names and use them to get political votes through robocalls.”

In a follow-up text message on Saturday, CBC asked McCaffrey whether the group intended to use the data it collected for voting.

“If a council member has any evidence that we told anyone to vote for or against him or any particular council member, I would like to see it,” McCaffrey responded.

In the first interview, CBC asked McCaffrey if there was a registered legal entity behind Common Sense organizations. He said there is one, but he doesn’t know the name.

“I don’t have it on hand because it’s a network. But I’d be happy to send you the information,” he said.

Regina’s civic election will be held on November 13th. (CBC/Radio-Canada)

When registering a legal entity, the names of the organization’s directors are indicated in a publicly available document. This would reveal at least some of the people behind the Common Sense network.

McCaffrey didn’t send the information, so CBC followed it up.

“I asked our lawyer what the current status of various documents was. I told him it was urgent so hopefully I’ll get an answer tonight,” McCaffery responded in a text message.

The next day he provided this information.

“The lawyer says work is underway to create a federal nonprofit to restructure the network, but at this point it is just an unincorporated nonprofit.”

Hawkins says this is all alarming.

“This shadowy Alberta organization is completely opaque,” ​​he said.