Two candidates in the North Vancouver-Lonsdale riding recently had their campaign signs defaced with swastikas.
Liberal MLA Naomi Yamamoto – B.C.’s first MLA of Japanese ancestry – tweeted a photo of her vandalized campaign sign Sunday evening. Shortly after, NDP candidate Bowinn Ma announced that one of her campaign signs had been marred with a swastika.
While Yamamoto said she wouldn’t make a “huge issue” out of the incident, she also didn’t want to normalize the malicious act.
The sign is one of about 30 of her campaign placards that have been ripped, stolen or “smashed to bits,” according to Yamamoto.
The perpetrators are tantamount to anonymous Twitter trolls, according to Yamamoto, who described the guilty party as: “cowards who deface signs in the middle of the night.”
The riding’s three major candidates all stated the vandalism was not representative of a vitriolic campaign.
“There’s always a few people who are rude but the vast majority – even if they support another party – it’s with a smile,” Yamamoto said.
Yamamoto said she was thankful for the support she received across parties.
“This is not a partisan issue,” agreed NDP candidate Ma. “Me and my team, we stand with Naomi against bigotry and hatred.”
Ma suspected the same vandal defaced both signs.
“I think it is the same person. Somebody’s been practising,” she said.
Green Party candidate Richard Warrington called the incident a “deplorable” assault on freedom of speech and diversity of opinion, adding that he would like to speak to the guilty party.
“If you’ve got something to say, talk to us.”
The Green candidate added that his limited supply of signs have so far been unharmed.
The graffiti stirred the Liberal and NDP leaders, with Premier Christy Clark telling reporters she doesn’t dwell on “what all the negative people” are doing at a recent press conference.
“I know this is going to be an ugly, mean, dirty campaign, that’s what the NDP has promised us again and again. I’m determined to make sure that we talk about a bright future for our kids,” she said.
A reporter also broached the issue with NDP leader John Horgan.
“Whenever I see hate, whenever I see discrimination I want to eradicate that,” he said. “That’s why one of the issues that we’re talking about is … renewing the human rights commission.”
The incident – while loathsome – is “garden variety” vandalism and not representative of the electorate, according to Capilano University political studies instructor Conrad King.
A swastika was also spray-painted on an Edgemont Village road shortly before Remembrance Day in 2016.
The graffiti’s appearance coincided with the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose campaign aided a “normalization of the vocalization of hatred,” according to Edgemont resident Tamara Komuniecki.
