WATERLOO REGION — Scott Piatkowski's latest bid for public office is off to a rough start.

The veteran New Democrat organizer used email addresses collected by the NDP to solicit support and donations in his campaign for a trustee seat on the Waterloo Region District School Board.

This violates party policy against using email addresses for municipal campaigns. His unsolicited emails also drew spam complaints from some who received them.

"On learning that one riding association volunteer accessed fewer than 100 email addresses for the purpose of a municipal campaign, the riding association took immediate action," Waterloo NDP president Graham Mitchell said in a statement.

Piatkowski has taken a leave of absence from his volunteer role as chief financial officer of the Waterloo NDP riding association. His access to the party's email list has been revoked.

"I think it was clear that it was appropriate for me to request a leave," he said.

Piatkowski is also a vice-president on the NDP Ontario executive. He said the data he misused belonged to the local riding association. "If there are any repercussions at the provincial level I'm not aware of them," he said.

Canada's antispam law bars businesses from sending unsolicited emails for commercial purposes. Candidates soliciting political contributions are exempt, but Piatkowski is not an NDP candidate in a non-partisan school board election.

"I have freely apologized to anybody who has complained. I have also apologized to the local riding association," he said. "This was a bad idea that was poorly executed and so I'm unhappy with myself."

He's hoping voters see his mistake "in the context of my 30 years of community involvement and judge me in the wider context."

Piatkowski hopes to win a trustee seat representing Waterloo and Wilmot in the Oct. 22 election. It's his fifth bid for public office. He was defeated in federal campaigns in 1988 and 1993 and in campaigns for Kitchener council in 2006 and 2010.

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