Miscues on social media haunting candidates
The good news for the Ontario NDP is that all signs show them pulling into the lead ahead of the June 7 election.
The bad news: their opponents and the media now have the microscopes out to vet NDP candidates for problems and they’re finding some doozies.
Here’s a few of the more notable cases — and because no party ’s immune to candidate controversies, some of the embarrassing revelations dogging the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives, too.
THE HITLER MEME
As a general rule, any time someone running for public office has to clarify that they don’t support Adolf Hitler, it’s not going well.
The Ontario PCs held a news conference on Friday to point out a strange 2013 Facebook post from Tasleem Riaz, the NDP candidate in Scarborough-Agincourt.
It appears to be a motivational quote from Hitler: “If you don’t like a rule … just follow it … reach on top … and change the rule,” the meme quotes Hitler as saying, along with a photo of him giving the Nazi salute.
Riaz put out a statement saying she doesn’t recall posting it and is “horrified” to see it on her page.
“In every way, I find Hitler, the hate he spewed and the genocide he committed to be abhorrent,” she said.
THE 9-11 TRUTHERS
Nobody likes seeing their old tweets, but it’s particularly bad when they ’re spreading conspiracy theories.
Dwayne Morgan, NDP candidate for Scarborough North, has belatedly scrubbed his Twitter feed of suggestions the U.S. government orchestrated the 9-11 terrorist attacks, but not before they were caught.
One said: “Now if they could do something about Bush’s role in 9-11, people could finally get closure.”
Not to be outdone, the Ontario Liberals had their own 9-11 conspiracy controversy.
Markham-Unionville candidate Amanda Yeung Collucci posted on Facebook in 2012: “911 was it really a terrorist attack or just another for cover up? As soon as it happened back in 2001 I thought how can the US Defense be so weak? I thought they LET it happen so they can declare war.”
Collucci has since deleted the post and apologized, saying it’s not representative of her views.
THE POPPY PROBLEM
Mississauga Centre NDP candidate Laura Kaminker caused a ruckus over a 2014 Facebook post where she declares her opposition to wearing the red poppy on Remembrance Day.
“I just wear my peace button on my jacket as always and wait for the collective brainwashing to blow over,” her post said. “When our masters give the signal, everyone can take off the fake poppy — made with prison labour — and create a bit more landfill. And another annual ritual of war glorification comes to a close.”
The opposition parties howled in protest that it was an insult to veterans, but NDP Leader Andrea Horwath defended her candidate’s right to hold the view.
“Those are certainly not values I share, but freedom of speech is a principle that we all, I think, value,” Horwath said.
LOCK HER UP
Pushing the idea that your political opponents should be thrown in jail is never a good look, but it’s especially problematic after Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, which featured a “lock her up” chant directed at Democratic rival Hillary Clinton at many rallies.
Glen Archer, a corrections officer running for the NDP in KenoraRainy River, apologized after 2015 Facebook posts were found about Premier Kathleen Wynne: “Blowing taxpayer money like crazy putting in the pockets of her friends, Scandal after scandal. She should be in prison. Resign at last!”
His favourite quote was also listed on his Facebook page as “If I wanted your opinion, I’d beat it out of you!” He told CBC it was a quote from a movie and called it “corrections humour.”
Both posts have been taken down and Archer apologized for his choice of words. BAD TWEETS
The Ontario PCs have mostly been fending off endless controversies over dubiously conducted nomination contests, but they’ve also had problems with socialmedia posts by candidates.
Much of it has centred on London West candidate Andrew Lawton, a former talk-show host appointed to the nomination after Doug Ford became PC leader.
Most of his controversial Twitter posts are off-colour jokes about Muslims (example: “Covered in wires from a portable heart monitor. The Muslim gents nearby seem to think I’m one of them.”), though he’s also in hot water over posts accused of being misogynistic and homophobic.
Lawton issued a lengthy apology, blaming it in part on his struggles with mental illness. Ford called Lawton a “good candidate” and accepted the explanation.