NDP hopeful quits nomination race
COWICHAN VALLEY: Georgia Collins withdraws amid allegations of sexism and harassment
The B.C. NDP is investigating the conduct of a political campaigner after a would-be candidate claimed that “sexism and harassment” led her to withdraw from a nomination race on Vancouver Island.
Georgia Collins, a community activist, announced on Facebook Wednesday that she is taking her name out of the running for the party’s nomination process in Cowichan Valley.
“I wish I could say that my decision is unrelated to sexism and harassment that I experienced during my campaign, but that would be untrue. I wish I could say that I was not disappointed by the party’s capacity to respond to such concerns, but that would also be untrue,” Collins wrote.
She also thanked her supporters and “everyone who chooses to speak out about their experiences, despite pressure from people to stay silent and despite lawyers being marshalled to threaten expensive lawsuits.”
Collins didn’t respond Thursday to requests for details about her experiences, explaining in an email late in the afternoon that she will be available for a conference call with media on Friday.
However, a written statement from B.C. NDP treasurer Amber Hockin made the circumstances surrounding Collins’ decision a bit clearer.
“She has raised concerns with us about the conduct of a private citizen who was part of her campaign team. We take those concerns seriously and are investigating the matter further,” Hockin wrote.
Collins first raised concerns about a member of her campaign team in a Facebook post in September.
The same post also detailed other troubling incidents in the candidate’s life, although she made it clear that those events were unrelated to the dispute with the campaigner. Collins said she was experiencing online harassment and had received death threats and revealed that a suspicious fire had been set near her home over the Labour Day weekend.
Collins was running for a chance to replace MLA Bill Routley, who is retiring next year after serving the riding for eight years.