Victoria conservative candidate Jack McClintock claimed green credentials even as he backed out of an October 6 all candidates' debate organized by environmental groups.

“He said it was a shame he couldn't come because he figured his environmental background was cumulatively better than all of the other candidates' put together,” Sierra Club BC executive director Kathryn Molloy told the crowd packed into a downtown theatre. The statement drew laughter from the crowd.

“It's a shame,” said longtime environmental activist Bobby Arbess. “It's a shame on him. It's disgusting.”

The retired police officer McClintock had earlier said he could come to the debate, but withdrew in the days before the event, organizers said.

The favourite in the riding is NDP incumbent Denise Savoie, who the Conservation Voters of B.C. have endorsed. Before entering politics, Savoie was a cycling and walking advocate. As a Victoria city councillor, at a time before it was fashionable for mainstream politicians, she consistently supported environmental projects such as the Dockside Green development.

The Liberal candidate is retired civil servant Anne Park Shannon and the Green candidate is Adam Saab, an assistant to B.C. Green Party leader Jane Sterk.

McClintock was unavailable to explain his environmental credentials, though a campaign worker said the candidate “walked his talk on the environment” for several years as a conservation officer before he became a police officer over two decades ago.

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