Article contentLantz’s opponent in the race, former lawyer Mark Ledwell, repeatedly also claimed Lantz had inappropriately used the P.E.I. Premier’s Office to advance his leadership ambitions.Article contentLantz would end up winning the leadership vote with 53 per cent of the vote compared to Ledwell’s 47 per cent.Article contentLarsen, who was a member of the leadership convention committee, said he did not believe Walker’s hiring raised questions about the committee’s impartiality. He said there was a separation between the leadership race and the new period after Lantz became leader.“Those accusations are not new. They dogged the party throughout the leadership convention or the leadership process,” Larsen said. “And they were felt by some. But I don’t (see) any validity to the accusations, given the conduct of those folks who were involved on the leadership convention committee.”Article content The chair of the committee that organized the Progressive Conservative party’s leadership vote has been hired by the party as a field organizer. Questions were raised during the leadership race about the impartiality of the leadership convention committee after members of the committee ended up working on Lantz’s leadership campaign. Photo by Stu Neatby /The GuardianArticle contentNo public postingArticle contentOther questions have been raised about the lack of public posting for the position of field organizer.Article contentArticle contentDarren Peters, a frequent supporter and contributor to the PCs, said this raises governance issues about the party. He noted that the party’s funds are supported by donations, which are in turn supported through publicly funded tax credits. He said party members were not informed of the hiring for months.Article content“That may have been how political machines operated in another era, or in a Third World dictatorship of some kind. Islanders should expect considerably better,” Peters told The Guardian. “This is why members have become estranged from a party that has abandoned its traditional principles and values.”Article contentLarsen confirmed the field organizer position was not posted publicly before the April hire, although he said conversations were held with different parties before Walker was hired.Article content“We knew that the (Cornwall-Meadowbank) byelection was imminent, had to be called by September … that was coming up quickly. And we’re approaching 2027, which is an election year. So we felt it was important to get someone in the role quickly,” Larsen said.Article contentArticle content‘An impossible job’Article contentPeter Handrahan, a longtime member and volunteer with the party, also questioned the lack of public posting for the field organizer position.Article contentBut Handrahan said the party’s recent loss in the Cornwall-Meadowbank byelection suggests change needs to come at the top of the party’s leadership.Article content“I think Andy’s got an impossible job if he’s going to try and get the party ready for the next election, in the situation that it’s in, from the point of view of polling and data and the byelection results,” Handrahan said.Article content“So, you know, instead of hiring Andy, maybe they should have tried to find a guy that walks on water.”Article content Mark Ledwell, who ran against Rob Lantz during the party’s leadership race in early 2026, said the April hire of Andy Walker by the Lantz-led PC’s did not represent a change of direction for the party. Photo by Stu Neatby /The GuardianArticle contentMark Ledwell said he had no opinion about Walker’s hiring after his role on the leadership convention committee. But he said Walker’s pick did not indicate a change of direction for the party.Article content“If you’re trying to send a message of renewal and that things are fresh and going to be different, then … that may dictate who you put in that role,” Ledwell said.
P.E.I. PC party hiring process questioned over new field organizer job
