The Port Moody-Coquitlam Green Party candidate in the provincial election is raising questions about the seriousness of his campaign after comments he made on social media came to light.
Hours after the party announced Don Barthel would be challenging for the seat currently held by BC Liberal MLA Linda Reimer, he told a friend on his public Facebook page that he is "just a 'paper candidate.'"
"I'm not expected to actively campaign," he said. "I'm really just there so that the BC Greens have someone on the ballot."
When asked about the posts by The Tri-City News, Barthel said the conversation was private and he did not want to talk about it. He added that he would be actively campaigning in the area and that he intends to participate in all-candidates meetings and will be going door-to-door to meet with voters.
Barthel said that while he does not live in the riding — he resides in the Langara neighbourhood of Vancouver — he is connected to the area through his love of hiking and his concern over the impacts the Kinder Morgan pipeline will have on the Burrard Inlet.
"I will be actively campaigning," he said, later adding "I really want to focus on the issues that are dear to my heart."
Four years ago, the Green Party ran Billie Helps in Port Moody-Coquitlam, a candidate who was not in the country for most of the campaign. She picked up 1,708 votes, or 8.19% of ballots cast.
The BC Greens also ran Edward Stanbrough in Coquitlam-Maillardville and he did not attend the riding's lone all-candidates meeting, reportedly did not campaign and refused media interview requests. He picked up 1,687 votes, 8.58% of the ballots cast.
This issue is not unique to the Tri-Cities.
In the campaign leading up to the May 9 vote, the Greens have chosen Greg Powell to carry their banner in Richmond's South Centre riding. But, as reported Tuesday in The Tri-City News' sister paper the Richmond News, the candidate lives more than 600 km away in the Kootenays, where he is a minister at the Castlegar United Church. He told the media that he intends to campaign via social media.
Jillian Oliver, the press secretary for the BC Greens, said the party expects its candidates to actively campaign.
"What Don [Barthel] said was not appropriate," she said.
But Oliver noted the party does its best to run candidates in every riding to give voters across the province an alternative to the BC NDP and BC Liberals.
She added that the Greens are not the only party to run candidates who do not live in the riding where they are seeking office.
(Last week, the BC Liberals announced Maple Ridge resident Susan Chambers will face off against longtime NDP MLA Mike Farnworth in the Port Coquitlam riding.)
"All parties run candidates for strategic reasons that they know don't have a great chance of winning," she said. "We make every effort to run candidates that are going to be out on the streets running real campaigns and we have tons and tons of those."
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