New directors suggest NPA shifting to far right
One is Trump fan who backs anti-maskers; the other provided platform for racist views
Recent changes to the Non-Partisan Association leadership suggest a shift further to the right, with new directors known for a more bombastic style of rightwing political discourse that experts say could risk alienating Vancouver voters closer to the centre.
The NPA's board of directors has seen a series of changes — and a few controversies — this year, most recently with the addition of two new directors who are outspoken supporters of some right-wing politicians and positions not widely popular with Vancouver voters.
Vancouver lawyer Wes Mussio, who was added last month to the NPA board, is an outspoken supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, and has harshly criticized B.C.'s pandemic restrictions, supported anti-mask protesters and praised the more relaxed approach in some U.S. jurisdictions.
The other new NPA director, Angelo Isidorou, describes himself as socially liberal, but has been in the news a number of times in recent years due to his work with a group that booked events featuring speakers espousing far-right and, in some cases, openly racist views. He was previously an organizer with the People's Party of Canada, widely regarded as a far-right populist group, but publicly quit the party before the last federal election to join the Conservatives.
The NPA dominated the city's political scene for much of the last century, and has historically made a political home for supporters of both the federal Liberals and the Tories. In Vancouver's 2018 election, the NPA narrowly lost the mayoral race but elected five councillors, more than any other party.
But since the NPA elected a new board in November 2019, they have been called out for shifting too far to the right, including, most prominently, by Coun. Rebecca Bligh, who left the party soon after the new board's election, followed by four board members who publicly quit in July. Now, the most recent changes to the NPA's board, with the departure of David Chen and Ray Goldenchild and the addition of Mussio and Isidorou, are being described as a move further still in that direction.
In separate interviews, Mussio and Isidorou said their views on U.S. and Canadian federal politics are irrelevant to their involvement with municipal politics.
But if a political party is viewed as shifting so far to the right that they alienate the centre and centre-left, they could have difficulty winning elections in a progressive city like Vancouver, said Mario Canseco, president of the polling firm Research Co.
The city of Vancouver, Canseco said, “is not a place where you can go: `Well if we court Conservatives, we're going to do remarkably well municipally.' It's not a strategy that is going to work for you.”
Mussio is, of course, perfectly free to declare support for Trump or anyone else. But if the NPA comes to be viewed as a political home for the redhat-wearing Trump crowd, that might not help them win voters in Vancouver, where Trump is far less popular than previous
U.S. Republican presidents and candidates.
Mussio has also blasted B.C. politicians and public health officials for their handling of the pandemic, delivering some of his criticisms in a decidedly Trumplike manner, via exclamation mark-laden insults on Twitter. On Friday, Mussio, owner of the B.C. Hockey League's Nanaimo Clippers, took to Twitter to deride the provincial health officer's recent move suspending sports, finishing his tweet: “Dumb PHO Bonnie!”
On Friday, Postmedia News reached Mussio by phone in Florida, where he arrived last month. “We're down here indefinitely, we're looking at buying a home here,” Mussio said. “Florida, contrary to what the media is saying, seems to be pretty normal ... Bars are open, restaurants are open, people are doing their freedoms and you would hardly know this is a COVID-19 hot spot because people are normal.”
Comparing data from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and the Government of Canada shows Florida has so far had 88 COVID-19 deaths for every 100,000 residents, about nine times the rate of B.C.
Over the weekend, Mussio shared his support for Saturday's anti-mask rally in Vancouver, as he has for previous similar protests. This past weekend's antimask demonstration was widely condemned as dangerous and stupid by health care workers, politicians, and other prominent figures, but applauded by Mussio, who wrote in a Facebook post: “Anti-lockdown rally with thousands of participants in Vancouver. Nice to see the citizens protesting for their freedom.”
Mussio is also the lawyer representing a group of Vancouver voters seeking a court order to remove Green Coun. Michael Wiebe from office. That matter, which concerns conflict of interest allegations, is expected to be heard in February.
Isidorou has been in the news in recent years primarily because of his work with a group called the Free Speech Club, which tried to book Vancouver appearances for figures such as Stefan Molyneux, who the U.S.-based Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a libertarian internet commentator “who amplifies `scientific racism,' eugenics and white supremacism to a massive new audience.”
Reached Friday, Isidorou said he doesn't necessarily agree with everything someone like Molyneux says, but believes in allowing those views to be aired in the interest of free speech.
“But I understand there is a debate around whether it is wise to platform bad ideas at all,” said Isidorou, who works at a digital marketing firm and writes for the right-wing media outlet The Post Millennial.
The NPA's four remaining councillors have sometimes disagreed with board members in recent months. It remains to be seen how the caucus will get along with the board's newest incarnation.