Jake Sawatzky is not the Liberal candidate for Chilliwack-Hope in the upcoming federal election, despite an email sent out to party members Saturday evening (March 29) that said just that.
The email caused confusion among party members in the riding, including association members who say they have been working hard to find a local candidate. The news spread by social media, and some media outlets.
On Sunday morning, the association released a statement regarding the announcement, saying they have learned that this election will be "anything but ordinary." The local Liberal team had met just earlier Saturday to hammer out logistics. They said they were all surprised when their "phones started to blow up Saturday evening."
They say they had no warning that the federal party had acclaimed a candidate for this riding.
"It's a big deal when a candidate is acclaimed locally” explained electoral district association secretary Lory Oberst, “but we knew something was amiss when we didn’t recognize the name and there was no warning. We all started to panic as community members began to contact us with questions. Nothing against Jake Sawatzky, we just don’t know him or what was happening."
Oberst said their candidate-vetting process is very thorough.
"It’s the scrutiny all candidates undergo to be endorsed as an election candidate. There is a strong focus on community engagement and a core Liberal belief that inclusive politics strengthens the party and helps close the gap for underrepresented groups in Parliament. The process can be slow - but it’s thorough and we value the the hard work of our green light committee along with regional staff that help facilitate the process," explained Brian Martin, committee chair.
“We’ve come to rely on it so when we saw the announcement we knew there had been a serious breakdown We reached out to everyone in our Provincial Office and some key Ottawa contacts, but it was after midnight PST and nobody got back to us immediately. It was a long night with not much sleep.”
They started to get answers Sunday morning, when the party responded and issued a retraction.
The local organization says they acknowledge that this confusion will add to the party's workload.
"Our leader Mark Carney, was just confirmed barely two weeks ago, and as anyone can understand, a candidate isn’t going to sign up for a job until they know who’s in charge. This has led to candidates stepping forward later than we’ve seen in the past. Multiple candidates is a good problem to have, but it has created a bottleneck and contributed to communication breakdown - system wide."
The team says they are still working behind the scenes to have a local candidate acclaimed. Sawatzky reportedly does not live in the riding.
"Despite the additional work, we are genuinely excited about the candidates who have approached us! We're thrilled to see the party respond today with a strong commitment to address the breakdown while also doing right by the candidates still in the vetting process," a statement to The Progress said Sunday.
“The values of a political party are tested during moments of crisis. Values can disappear instantly if leaders don’t embrace them when the going gets tough. Look South if you need a reminder. We didn’t need our resilience tested yesterday, but to be honest, it didn’t hurt either," Martin said.
The statement did not include who they are working to have acclaimed.
“The importance of this moment has not gone unnoticed in Chilliwack-Hope. Some truly impressive candidates have stepped up to meet the moment head-on. Keep an eye out for our red signs, and remember, it’s not how we start that matters; it’s how we finish that Chilliwack-Hope will remember."
Other candidates in the riding so far are incumbent Mark Strahl (Conservative), Teri Westerby (NDP), Salina Derish (Green) and Jeff Galbraith (PPC). Parties have until April 9 to confirm their candidates to Elections Canada.
