PR: Emerson's riding president responds

February 6, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Caprice Barbour, Founding President of the Vancouver-Kingsway Liberal Riding Association, responded to David Emerson’s abdication from the Liberal Party and his rebirth as a Conservative Minister with shock and disgust.

“This is exactly 2 weeks since the good people of Vancouver-Kingsway re-elected Emerson as Liberal MP knowing full well that the Conservatives were likely going to form government and electing a Liberal MP anyway. The Conservative candidate was a very distant third which indicates to me that the voters and taxpayers who pay Emerson’s salary did not want a Conservative representing them. This riding has elected only Liberals since its current inception in 1996. The people of Vancouver Kingsway voted for the party and not the man. In the entire history of the Riding (1952 to 1987 and then from 1996 to present day), there have been 16 elections and the one and only time that a conservative was elected was in 1958. We are not a conservative riding.

If Mr Emerson disagrees with me, I would ask him to do the honourable thing and resign his seat and seek re-election as a Conservative. I expect that the voters of Vancouver-Kingsway would show him the door. If Emerson has any ethics then he would be honest to the people that he promised to serve as a Liberal.

This doesn’t seem to be a case of a MP not agreeing with a party’s direction or philosophy; this seems to me to be blatant ambition. He spent money raised by Liberals to run as a Liberal candidate and he should refund the party. I am truly repulsed by Emerson’s actions today.

Given the Press Release issued this morning by Prime Minister Harper today on regaining the trust of Canadians, I find it difficult to understand why one of Mr. Harper’s first acts in Office is to accept the betrayal of the people of Vancouver Kingsway by appointing Mr. Emerson to cabinet.

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