Chatham-area Liberal candidate dropped

Mazurek was a teenager when he posted anti-gay, misogynistic terms online

The latest in a string of apparent vetting failures, this one over anti-gay slurs posted on Facebook about a decade ago, has cost the Liberals their original candidate in a Chatham-area riding just hours before the nomination deadline in a wide-open race.

The Ontario Liberals dropped Alec Mazurek, their Chatham-kent—leamington candidate, after the NDP unearthed comments he made on Facebook using an anti-gay slur when he was a teen.

A party spokeswoman confirmed Mazurek was officially removed as a candidate on Thursday, just hours before the nomination deadline for the June 2 election.

His last-minute ouster will harm Liberal chances in a riding that was up for grabs, experts say.

Rich Nicholls had been the riding's three-term Tory MPP until he was turfed from Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative caucus last summer for failing to provide proof of vaccination.

With Nicholls seeking re-election under the banner of the new Ontario Party, none of the Big Three political parties has a veteran running.

The last-minute scrambling for a candidate “no doubt” damaged Liberal chances in the riding, especially given the potential vote split between the Tories and the two other right-leaning parties in the running, said Myer Siemiatycki, a professor emeritus of politics at Toronto Metropolitan University, the former Ryerson University.

“Every riding is going to matter in this election,” Siemiatycki said. “At this point, the polls are suggesting Mr. Ford is heading towards a slim majority government.”

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca, trying to lead his party back from the 2018 election, when it was reduced to seven seats after 15 years in office, said it's important for leaders to take decisive action in such situations. When the election was called last week, the Liberals were still trying to find candidates in 14 of Ontario's 124 ridings.

Andrea Lawlor, an associate professor of politics at King 's University College in London, said it's becoming “less and less unusual” to see a candidate step down for such reasons.

“A lot of the parties struggle to shore up resources in finding quality candidates,” she said. “Of course, we're also looking at an environment where there's a lot more information available on people.”

In a statement issued via the Chatham-kent—leamington Provincial Liberal Association, Mazurek apologized for his comments, which included anti-gay and misogynistic language, but stressed he's no longer the same person.

Mazurek said he made the comments “close to a decade ago,” when he was a 15-year-old commenting on photos posted by friends.

According to the Elections Ontario website later Thursday, Audrey Festeryga will run for the Liberals in Chatham-kent—leamington.