Jody Wilson-Raybould’s riding association members quit Liberals to work for her campaign as an independent

by Ian Bailey

Most members of the Liberal electoral district association in Jody Wilson-Raybould’s Vancouver-Granville riding have quit in light of the former cabinet minister’s decision to run for re-election this fall as an independent.

Claire Marshall, the outgoing chair of the riding association, confirmed the exits Thursday, saying that nine of 15 members of the board – herself included – have quit effective this week.

“We began to see our position as increasingly difficult and, in many cases, untenable,” Ms. Marshall said in an interview.

“The energy and enthusiasm necessary to continue in our roles, to conduct candidate searches, simply wasn’t there to run a campaign against Jody,” Ms. Marshall said. “We’ve built a good relationship with her; she has been so great to work with. We still support her.”

The exits come ahead of an election expected in October in which the Liberals were hoping to hold the riding of Vancouver-Granville, which Ms. Wilson-Raybould won with about 44 per cent of the vote in the 2015 election.

The NDP and Conservatives finished with 27 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively, in the first election in the newly created riding.

On Thursday, the federal Liberals acknowledged the exits

“I want to thank all Liberal volunteers in Vancouver-Granville for their contributions to our party, and specifically the volunteers who have served on its local EDA executive,” Gabe Garfinkel, director of the federal Liberal Party in British Columbia, said in a statement.

Most members of the Liberal electoral district association in Jody Wilson-Raybould’s Vancouver-Granville riding have quit in light of the former cabinet minister’s decision to run for re-election this fall as an independent.

Claire Marshall, the outgoing chair of the riding association, confirmed the exits Thursday, saying that nine of 15 members of the board – herself included – have quit effective this week.

“We began to see our position as increasingly difficult and, in many cases, untenable,” Ms. Marshall said in an interview.

Mr. Garfinkel said an EDA annual general meeting was due to be called this week in line with party bylaws, but it has now been scheduled for late June.

“A number of volunteers have already been putting their name forward with interest in serving on the incoming executive,” he said.

full story at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-jody-wilson-rayboulds-riding-association-members-quit-liberals-to/