And while Taegar-Panton says that at no point did she take any campaign financing from John Saldivar, did she take any from her predecessor, Herman Longsworth? It’s of urgent public interest right now because in the auditor General’s report on the Sports Council, she found that former UDP Albert Area Rep was running some red lights just as he was finishing up his term and making way for Taager Panton.
The report names Longsworth report for diversion of public funds to the Albert Committee bank account. The auditor found that the Sports Council hired Go Enterprises - a company controlled solely by Longsworth - to do some work at the Marion Jones Stadium. On 27th October, 2015 - a week before the general election, the company received $75,000 in mobilization fees. Longsworth - the report says - diverted $35,000 to the UDP/Albert Committee account and $5,000 into his personal account.Â
So did Tracy Panton get that money? We asked her today:
Jules Vasquez
"That is a week before elections, you were the candidate. Did you receive those diverted funds?"
Hon. Tracey Taegar-Panton - Albert Area Rep
"No. The UDP Albert account was never transferred over to the committee that I formed when I became the standard bearer for the Albert constituency; we opened our own account at the Bank at Nova Scotia, the Albert Action Committee account which is where we have been operating from. So there were 2 separate accounts, there were no resources from the previous standard bearer to me and we started really from ground 0. So there should be no confusion at all about monies, if they were transferred to Mr. Longsworth’s UDP Albert account."
Jules Vasquez
"So you do not sign upon UDP Albert committee account, you are not a signatory to that?"
Hon. Tracey Taegar-Panton
"No."
Jules Vasquez
"Are you aware of the account's existence?"
Hon. Tracey Taegar-Panton
"No."
Jules Vasquez
"So then why one might ask from the outside, why then would Mr. Longsworth transfer monies into a political account, when he was retiring from electoral politics and moving on?"
Hon. Tracey Taegar-Panton
"He would have to answer that question Jules. I don't know why me made the decisions he made, I can say that none of those resources, none of the resources of the previous standard bearer were ever transferred to me."
