BURSTThe president of the Conservative Party of B.C. riding association for Abbotsford-Mission has resigned and left the party as new leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay eyes the seat.
Former Mission mayor and BC Liberal MLA Randy Hawes announced his resignation from the president role on social media Monday (Aug. 24), days after Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper stepped down to make way for Findlay.
Hawes said Findlay represents “a huge step to the far right”. He has been the riding association president since Gasper was elected, raising money and helping to develop new members.
Hawes said he had no advance notice of Gasper’s resignation and it came as a “total surprise”. He found out through news and social media.
“I had already been making that kind of a decision because I do not care for Kerry-Lynn Findlay’s politics at all, and I believe she’s making a strong move to the right, which is not what I believe this province needs or wants,” he said.
He said he was shocked when Findlay was chosen as the leader in May, believing the party would move to the centre-right.
Hawes said a byelection in Abbotsford-Mission is unnecessary and will cost money. He said Findlay should have asked her husband, Surrey South MLA Brent Chapman, to step down instead of Gasper. He was also critical of Chapman’s past comments.
“I stated to anyone who would listen that her asking MLAs to step down so she could run in their seat was very wrong. Her husband, Brent Chapman, is the MLA for Surrey South. She lives there but apparently did not ask her husband to step down,” Hawes said.
He believes the majority of voters in B.C. prefer a centre-right or centre-left party as government rather than too far in either direction.
“(Not) the MAGA-style right where you hate people,” Hawes said.
He later said: “I’ll be working as hard as I can to make sure she is not my MLA. Nor would I want the NDP back as my MLA. I’m hoping that a party in the centre will appear and we’ll have somebody to vote for.”
In his statement, Hawes credited Gasper’s work as MLA. She will now become Findlay’s deputy chief of staff.
Conservative Party of B.C. president Aisha Estey and vice-president Sharon White quit last week, and Delta South MLA Ian Paton and Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar also both left the party.
Findlay held a press conference for the first time in almost two months on Tuesday as she seeks to stabilize her caucus.
“There may even be others that leave our caucus; I don’t know,” Findlay told reporters in Vancouver.
The Mission Record contacted the Conservative Party of B.C. for comment.
– With files from Lauren Collins and Mark Page