HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Mark Allan Robinson
OR:
Mark Allan Robinson on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Mark Allan Robinson (born January 20, 1975) was the proponent of the first recall petition in Canadian history to remove an elected politician that reached the required threshold to force a by-election. Robinson was born in
Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration The ce ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, and was active politically from the age of 18, sitting on various local government committees and boards of directors for non-profit organizations. In the spring of 1998, Parksville-Qualicum
Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
(MLA)
Paul Reitsma Paul Reitsma (born January 22, 1948) is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada, for the electoral district of Parksville-Qualicum. He was born in 1948 in the Netherlands. Reitsma served as the mayor of Port Alber ...
had been caught by Cam Purdy, editor of local Parksville newspaper, ''Parksville/Qualicum Beach Morning Sun'', writing letters to the editor for years praising himself and signing them under fabricated names. Robinson organized over 300 volunteers in the riding of Parksville-Qualicum (
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
), which included the city of Parksville, the town of
Qualicum Beach :''"Qualicum" re-directs here. For the neighbourhood in Ottawa, see Qualicum, Ottawa'' Qualicum Beach () is a town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 9,303. It is situated at the fo ...
, the northern half of the city of
Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...
, and smaller communities such as Nanoose Bay and Coombs/ Errington. Going door-to-door, volunteers amassed several thousand signatures above what was legally required to force Reitsma out of office during the official campaign period of April 15 to June 15. On June 15, 1998, Mark Robinson with volunteer Rev. Bill Robinson (no relation) presented the petition to
Elections BC Elections BC (formally the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia) is a non-partisan office of the British Columbia legislature responsible for conducting provincial and local elections, by-elections, petitions, referendums, p ...
. The signatures were verified between the dates of June 15 and June 23, with a count of over 25,000 (just over 17,000 required), and an announcement was to be made that the recall petition had enough signatures to call a by-election, which almost certainly would have resulted in the recall of Reitsma. On June 23, 1998 Reitsma resigned his seat in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly after being tipped off about the overwhelming success of the petition to recall him.


See also

*
History of British Columbia The history of British Columbia covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day British Columbia were inhabited for millennia by ...
*
Paul Reitsma Paul Reitsma (born January 22, 1948) is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada, for the electoral district of Parksville-Qualicum. He was born in 1948 in the Netherlands. Reitsma served as the mayor of Port Alber ...
*
recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of offi ...


External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20010216105456/http://elections.bc.ca/rcl/r98005.html *http://www.cbc.ca/insite/CANADA_AT_FIVE_TORONTO/1998/6/23.html Political history of British Columbia People from Penticton Living people 1975 births Green Party of British Columbia politicians {{Canada-activist-stub