With the NDP losing a third candidate to media scandals in British Columbia, a senior Liberal official said he's unapologetic for his party's role in taking them down.
“If Jack Layton's not willing to vet his candidates, we will,” said Brad Zubyk, the director of communications for the Liberals B.C. campaign. “We make no apologies. If they're not going to do due diligence on their people, we'll do it for them.”
The NDP's Julian West withdrew from the race in Saanich-Gulf Islands today after a 12-year-old story resurfaced about inappropriate behaviour at a youth conference. Some media reports have said Liberal party officials raised the story. Posters on some internet sites have blamed Zubyk personally.
“The Liberal Party did that,” Zubyk said, though he denied deserving credit himself. “It's all public domain. Quite frankly, we don't apologize for it. None of this is particularly hard to find.”
Last week the NDP lost candidates Dana Larsen in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country and Kirk Tousaw in Vancouver-Quadra. Today Conservative Vancouver East candidate Ryan Warawa's old blog postings are being recirculated and there may soon be more to come.
“We're going to continue researching,” said Zubyk.
Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee's Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. You can reach him here.
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Frank
3 years ago
Liberal tactics
Warren Kinsella does say his Libs are the best at attacking people. Guess he's right.
Too bad they don't put half as much effort into things like keeping their hands out of cookie jars and keeping promises.
Luke Skywalker
3 years ago
Is It Liberal Or NDP Tactics?????
Brad Zubyk, is the former BC NDP caucus communications director and was the manager for New Democrat Gregor Robertson's Vision Vancouver mayoral campaign.
http://www.mondaymag.com/articles/entry/the-week46
Grumpy
3 years ago
Well Mr. Zubyk............
..........you have just given me a reason never to vote Liberal - NEVER!
Who the hell do you think you are - Big Brother; some sort of KGB or Stazi agent? If there is any proof the the Liberals provincial or federal are nothing more than evil slandering quislings who would sell there daughter into prostitution to get elected.
Evil is as Evil does and Zubyk and cancerous band of desperate Liberal hacks who resort to character assassination deserve to be deeply censured and the Liberals, forever shunned by the voter.
Let the voter decide Mr. Zubyk not you; that's what is called democracy, something you obviously don't believe in.
Oh by the way Mr. Zubyk, where was Gordo going when he was pulled over and why has the media, except for Potvins wee paper censor that? Maybe the public should start throwing mud at you and your pustlant lot.
Skywalker
3 years ago
Guns for hire nothing more.
Whoever pays his fee will get his services these days. He's hardly a Social Democrat as he sells his services to the highest bidder regardless of principles. His tactics are not specific to one side of the political spectrum. Much like a lawyer who works for some of the greatest scum because they pay the fee. Nice try though Luke, but the tactic is wearing thin.
Luke Skywalker
3 years ago
And the NDP....
That's the federal NDP here in BC...
"The New Democratic Party admits we seriously erred in making the allegations public and in putting a young and inexperienced candidate in a position where he felt justified in making those allegations and to repeat them on some 40 occasions to media across Canada," Davies told the Commons.
Her profuse apology, required as part of a lawsuit settlement
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/12/06/bc-ndpapologies.html
Frank
3 years ago
Luke
Spend all your time googling up dirt on the NDP? Seems to me if you're being accused of spending all your time googling up dirt on your opponents that that is the last thing you'd want to do.
But yes, thanks for going back to 2007 for us. I remember that year, the Liberals didn't vote against Harper in any of the 12 months.
Frank
3 years ago
Liberal tactics
He also likes to talk about how much he hates his fellow Liberals, the "Martinites" that is. Didn't you say you're a "Martinite" Luke? Says he cheered when you guys couldn't win a majority and cheered again when you went down in defeat against Harper.
I guess Libs like to stick the knife into their own as much as they do other parties?
Frank
3 years ago
Warren Kinsella
Sorry, forgot to post the author of the above quote, even though quoting doesn't work here.
Frank
3 years ago
As for Julian
I should add that as much as I disagree with historical Liberal campaign tactics, and although it was 12 years ago and everyone makes mistakes, Julian's actions that day were wrong and he should not have been running as a representative of the NDP. I guess someone listened to his side of the story and didn't check other sides.
Skywalker
3 years ago
As I said before.
Bob and Rick Mercer go skinny dipping on the Mercer Report. A tory candidate poses for a picture with her wearing nothing but the chain of a municipal office. Do we have calls for resignations? of course not and who the hell cares but let if an NDP candidate has screwed up a decade ago and all hell and Luke break loose and you gotta resign. Then just because Zubyk is always introduced as a former NDP Communications person back in the 90's then his actions today however venemous wallowing in the sleaze must be sanctioned by the NDP. What next? This whole campaign is nothing but a stroll through the gutter by all of the parties. Even the ads are getting offensive and the reason I use to have respect for how Canadian conducted themselves during campaigns is gone. We are no better than the Yanks and thanks to Dion and Harper for that.
NicS
3 years ago
Federal NDP Did Right Letting West Go!
Yes, the Federal NDP did the right thing in accepting Julian West's withdrawal.
At first it appeared the Greens and West's not so green opponent, Andrew Lewis were the only ones responsible for playing dirty pool. Now it appears the Liberals Brad Zubyk is responsible for the initial shove to push Julian West out of contention.
Will the BCNDP accept Zubyk back to help them win the Provincial Elections in the spring?
And today the Conservatives Gary Lunn was calling for the resignation of Briony Penn for having Lady Godiva-ed down Georgia Street several years ago.
I agree with GWest'scomments in the related posts that the NDP should urge their supporters to vote for Briony Penn. Anyone would be better than Gary Lunn, the Conservative, who time and again has shown his complete lack of integrity in many areas.
Budd Campbell
3 years ago
The Issue is now Brad Zubyk
Brad Zubyk is bringing a new style of hardball politics to BC. Is that what Gregor Robertson wants to do as Mayor? Is this what Carole James want's to do as Premier?
What does Corky Evans have to say about the tactics of the man who ran his leadership drives?
As for West, he had little alternative but to step down under the circumstances. However, these "press releases" coming from unknown people that no reporter has met in person, only talked to on a phone or cell phone, coming just as nominations officially close, but twenty months after West was nominated, are not a coincidence.
And Brad himself would laugh at any one who said it was a coincidence, at least, he would laugh off camera and off the record. Brad's not stupid, you know.
Skywalker
3 years ago
It's gutter politics not hardball.
I may be angry at all the nutbars that didn't have a chance to make it as green, marijuana, or whatever candidates gravitating over to the NDP but I am disgusted at the level of politics that has emerged. The leadership in the NDP that forever looks at trying to adapt to suit a larger vote base has lost sight of the principles of social democracy.
These people should have been screened by the locals before they got the nod; that is a given, but it is easy to flim flam your way through the selection process. All you have to do is sign up a lot of people who will choose you as the candidate. It doesn't matter what their political beliefs are. Consequently to get people who has a checkered past. The top echalons of the party could care less about principles they are only concerned with attracting votes from some sector be it from women or the environmentalist ranks. My observation is that the greens and the soft liberals have done more to undermine the NDP from within that they could have hoped to do from the outside.
Krispy
3 years ago
Nothing worse than a Dipper gone bad
So, Brad Zubyk spends his days and nights ferreting out shards of potentially embarassing information to use against marginal NDP candidates. It's quite sad, really.
One would think that the Libs would have better things to occupy their time. But I suppose this is what losing campaigns do when they are in freefall -- try to throw crap at their opponents, rather than address the real issues.
Issues like, trying to explain why their party was absent during several key votes in Parliament, or voted in favour of Tory policies to save themselves from an election, all the while talking about how they opposed the policies they supported.
Voters are beginning to clue in to the fact that there is little light to be seen between the Tories and Libs once they get off the hustings and into Parliament.
I would suggest that this is why Canadians are increasingly turning to the NDP as a viable alternative, and very possibly as the Official Opposition or better (two tracking polls just out put the NDP within 5 points of Libs nationally).