Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jan 2015
Source: Georgia Straight, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 The Georgia Straight
Contact:  http://www.straight.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1084
Author: Charlie Smith

LIBERALS SEND A MESSAGE BY REFUSING TO ALLOW JODIE EMERY TO SEEK 
NOMINATION IN VANCOUVER EAST

THE NEWS THAT came over Jodie Emery's Twitter feed was terse and direct.

"At 3:58 pm I received an email from the Liberal Green Light 
Committee informing me they are not recommending me to be a 
nomination candidate," she wrote.

Emery, wife of marijuana-legalization crusader Marc Emery, had hoped 
to become the Liberal candidate in Vancouver East.

She went through the usual bureaucracy that comes with seeking a nod 
from a federal party.

Emery demonstrated that she doesn't have a criminal record. She 
certainly has a long history of involvement in community issues. But 
apparently, that didn't satisfy party apparatchiks.

So her opportunity to seek a nomination was nixed.

The news was leaked late on a Friday afternoon to minimize media coverage.

Despite the lack of respect shown Emery, she will still support the 
Liberals in the next election because they're the only major party 
promising legalization of marijuana.

Nevertheless, the Liberals will upset many Vancouverites with this 
decision, just as they did when a Liberal nomination race was 
short-circuited in Vancouver South.

That came when businessman Barj Dhahan stepped down as a potential candidate.

Some of his supporters felt Dhahan was pushed to quit to clear the 
way for Harjit Sajjan, a former Vancouver police officer and retired 
military officer.

Meanwhile, the NDP hasn't imposed restrictions on its nomination 
process in Vancouver East. Nor did the NDP rig the game in Vancouver 
Centre when members selected Constance Barnes in a contested nomination.

In two Liberal nominations in the city, Vancouverites have gotten a 
glimpse into Leader Justin Trudeau's commitment to grassroots 
democracy. It doesn't appear to run very deep.

That's a worrisome sign should he ever become prime minister.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom