One of today's Teddy Waste award winners has inspired a question: who is "Richard the Frugal MLA" featured in a promotion on Q104?  It's an amusing question--unless you're a Nova Scotia taxpayer. CBC reports:

...Progressive Conservative MLAs believe it's an attack on the former MLA for Yarmouth, Richard Hurlburt.

Hurlburt resigned in February amid a spending scandal triggered by Auditor General Jacques Lapointe's report on MLA expenses.

Lapointe found "excessive and unreasonable" claims, which he in part blamed on inadequate spending controls.

'Completely fictional'

J.C. Douglas, program director for Q104, said the station is not referring to the former MLA for Yarmouth.

"It's a completely fictional character that we're dealing with, our Richard, but any resemblance to real people, real-life situations, is completely, completely coincidence," he said Tuesday.

Yeah, right. Lapointe found that Hurlbert...

billed taxpayers $8,000 to have a generator installed in his home. He also spent more than $3,000 to buy and install a 40-inch LCD television in his constituency office.

....In his 142-page report, Lapointe concluded inappropriate claims were made by some politicians for personal items, including Hurlburt's generator.

Some other examples of excessive spending identified by Lapointe included $13,445 for custom-made office furniture, $2,499 for a television and $738 for an espresso coffee machine.

The office furniture was bought by New Democrat MLA John MacDonell, the television by Hurlburt and the coffee machine by former Tory MLA Judy Streatch.

When Hurlburt resigned his seat on Feb. 9, he released a statement as he left for a Florida vacation.

"It is with deep regret and sorrow that I advise I am tendering my resignation as MLA for Yarmouth and as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus effective Tuesday," he said in a statement.

Hurlburt repaid the money, after first defending the purchase of the generator.

Earlier this week, the Speaker's office released the full 2006 to 2009 spending list. It shows several MLAs bought multiple digital cameras, computers, and printers.

The biggest spender was former Tory MLA Len Goucher who spent more than $38,000 on office furniture and electronic technology.

By: Lee Harding
Posted: March 10, 2010
Topic: Nova Scotia

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