A spokesperson for Gregor Robertson said the mayor isn’t backing Premier Gordon Campbell’s election bid, despite a glowing quote in the B.C. Liberals’ platform.

“The mayor is not endorsing the premier and we did not give permission to use the quote in campaign materials,” a source in the mayor’s office told The Tyee.

Robertson shows up on page 31 of the B.C. Liberals’ 55-page platform, released yesterday.

“As premier, [Campbell] has shown his leadership on the environment, including overseeing BC becoming the first jurisdiction to introduce a Carbon Tax in North America,” reads the platform.

Robertson is the only elected official to appear in the document, which also quotes a film producer and an energy CEO. The mayor’s statement first appeared in an April 4 Vancouver Sun story.

It’s one of many accolades Robertson showered on the premier at a conference on the Olympics, sport and the environment.

His remarks angered many Vision Vancouver supporters who consider themselves more closely aligned with Carole James’ New Democratic Party or Jane Sterk’s Green Party than Campbell’s pro-business Liberals.

Robertson was NDP MLA for Vancouver-Fairview and considered a “star candidate” by the party before he resigned his seat to run for mayor last year.

Coalition of Progressive Electors councillor David Cadman said Campbell’s government is not worthy of support from the green community because of projects such as Gateway.

But he thinks it’s fair game for the B.C. Liberals to use Robertson’s quote in their platform.

“When you make public statements that endorse a person as he did, then any party is free to use them for their purposes,” he told The Tyee.

Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for The Tyee.