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Another candidate was rejected on Wednesday after it was revealed that he had published a book detailing scientifically unfounded views on homosexuality.
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May 12, 2022 • 59 minutes ago • 4 minutes reading • 48 comments Alec Mazurek was officially terminated as a Liberal candidate in Chatham-Kent-Leamington. Photo from @ votealec2022 / Instagram
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For the third time in so many days, the Ontario Liberal Party rejected another candidate, this time after the NDP uncovered discriminatory social media posts made when the candidate was 13 years old.
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On Thursday, spokeswoman Andrea Ernesax confirmed to the National Post that Alec Mazurek had dropped out as the Liberal Party’s candidate for Chatham-Kent-Leamington – just hours before Thursday’s 14:00 application deadline.
The eight-year-old Facebook post was revealed in a press release Thursday morning from the Ontario NDP, including comments on photos posted by an already deactivated Facebook account allegedly owned by Mazurek.
Two of the comments, made as comments on photos posted by friends, call friends “fa-gots”, while a third thread depicts the account commenting “1 good bitch costs 1000 bad bitches” and while a third responds to a friend who called it ” swag fg “with the answer” YES IM A SWAGGOT. JEALOUS MORE?!? “
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Ontario Liberals reject candidate who wrote that homosexuality could be caused by “exhausted re-breathing” at birth
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FIRST READING: Why Ontario is ready to re-elect Doug Ford after all
Unaware of Mazurek’s comments when questioned by the media on Thursday morning, Liberal leader Stephen Del Duca promised to take action as the allegations turned out to be true.
“I think it’s really important for leaders to take decisive action when the behavior of candidates, which is irresponsible, which is reckless, which is not what we stand for, is treated in the most decisive way possible,” he told reporters.
“I will consider this event immediately after that and if that is the case, he will no longer be a candidate for us.
By Thursday morning, Mazurek’s campaign website and social media accounts had been removed offline.
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Mazurek’s dismissal is the latest in what has become a bad week for Ontario’s Liberal candidates.
On Tuesday, Ontario Liberals confirmed that high school student Aidan Kalioinen is no longer their Sault Ste candidate. Marie, after being linked to discriminatory and insensitive online comments, and being linked to an Instagram account titled “SlapMineNutsMC.”
The 18-year-old defended himself against the Sault Star, claiming he was a victim of identity theft, claiming that the already deleted comments made in online gaming forums joking about people dying of AIDS had not been made by him. .
“I can tell you they weren’t my posts,” he told Sault Star’s Elaine Della-Mathia.
“I was about 13 or 14 when I was part of this Minecraft online gaming forum and these comments were not made by me. Someone is using my identity without my knowledge. “
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Kalioinen’s candidacy has been the subject of local controversy following a column by Sabrina Maddo of the National Post alleging that the party rejected the candidacy of local lawyer and human rights defender Naomi Sayers in favor of putting the young white man on the ballot.
This came a day before Parry Sound-Muskoka Liberal candidate Barry Stanley was ousted from the party after the Toronto Star discovered that the retired teacher was the author of a book suggesting that homosexuality was caused by brain damage suffered by babies inhaling their own carbon dioxide.
Three high-profile expulsions raise questions about the Liberals’ process to screen potential candidates.
A party statement said the process of vetting candidates “never stops” during election campaigns.
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“We are constantly making sure that our team reflects our province and will continue to do so throughout the writing period,” the statement said.
Computers in Ontario were also under control this week after a Press Progress article accused Cabinet Secretary Stephen Lecce of attending a fraternity “slave auction” event in 2006 while studying at Western University.
Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford expressed support for his education minister, who apologized for attending the event.
The screening of candidates, said Peter Greif, a professor of political science at McMaster University, is one of the most challenging jobs parties face in elections – especially in modern times, when long-forgotten but potentially ending career comments can be made. hide in the activities of virtually everyone on social media.
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“This has led (the Ontario Liberals) to be removed from their message for at least two days this week,” he said.
“So, if you think they only have 28 days to reach the Ontarians, you know they failed the 14th.”
Greif pointed out that charging bad candidates is a professional risk in every election, which suggests how difficult it is for parties to secure a squeaky ballot.
“When preparing a campaign, you prefer to have people working on the messages, rather than browsing Facebook and Twitter posts for more than a decade, just to see if there’s anything awkward about what they’re saying,” he said.
“It’s a big deal, probably one that parties aren’t happy to have to do because it’s time-consuming, but it’s not really that relevant for the actual campaign, other than preventing the loss of days with this kind of news.”
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