The campaign manager for the Green Party candidate running against NDP leader Carole James stepped down this morning with just six weeks to go until the election.

“I believe Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals need to be defeated in the upcoming election,” said Chris Parent in an e-mail explaining why he quit working on Adam Saab's campaign in Victoria-Beacon Hill which he had joined just a few weeks ago. “Carole James and the NDP are the ones to move the progressive voice.”

In the e-mail and in a phone interview he stressed that he thinks very highly of Saab personally, but disagrees with the party's strategy.

“If the Green Party were to focus on having 30 strong candidates, they could pick the ridings that would work best for them,” he said on the phone. “Otherwise you're looked at as the freaks and the geeks.”

“A good strategy for the Greens is to run Greens in every riding possible,” said Saab, who said he was “very surprised” Parent stepped down. “You can't elect them if they don't run.”

Even Greens who don't win will help shape the public debate, he said. “I'm very confident we will succeed in this election . . . These politicians you endorse will be influential in some form,” he said. “There's lots to be gained.”

Parent was hired after the Green Party posted the job, Saab said. Many of Saab's and the party's core supporters are working on leader Jane Sterk's campaign as well as the 'yes' to Single Transferable Vote campaign. “I agree with them. I think that is the most important part of this election.”

“We have a very professional team that's planning our campaign,” said Sterk. “I don't function from a place of fear. That seems to be the modus operandi for a lot of people who seem to think the Green Party doesn't have a right to run candidates.

"At some point in time people should get used to the fact the Green Party is part of the political landscape.”

As for Parent's departure, she said, “He's sort of a one-week wonder I guess. He had ties to the NDP.”

Parent said he joined the NDP after the 2001 election and sat as an alternate on a party committee, but that he is non-partisan. While he liked Mike Harcourt's approach, Glen Clark gave him a bad feeling. “I [once] got kicked out of the legislature for flipping him the finger.”

“I'm not a big party guy. I think that's obvious,” Parent said, adding he plans to put his efforts into encouraging voter registration.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.