B.C. Conservative candidate Jeff Sprague has dropped out of the 2013 election race only days after the writ dropping.
Jeff Sprague informed the party over the weekend that he would step down. The party quickly appointed Allan Mo-lyneaux, a retired property appraiser and president of the party's North-Vancouver-Lonsdale constituency association, as the new candidate for the riding.
When asked about the allegations reported in other media that Sprague was caught drunk driving, North Vancouver RCMP issued the following statement: "North Vancouver RCMP can confirm that on April 18, at approximately 3 p.m. at St. Davids and East Second Street, North Vancouver RCMP did enter into an impaired-driving investigation as reported by a citizen and where an alleged vehicle struck two other vehicles and left the scene," said Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman. "We did attend and subsequently arrested the driver and no criminal charges are laid at this time but it is an ongoing investigation. Subsequently, the identity of the driver is not being released at this time."
Sprague, who works in private security and fronts a heavy metal cover band, did not respond to several requests for comment. Similarly, no one at the B.C. Conservatives' campaign office responded to interview requests.
Molyneaux said he was not part of the committee that screened candidates, and the news of Sprague stepping down came as a shock. He only learned about the police investigation through social media, he added.
Molyneaux is taking up the mantle, running on a fiscally conservative platform.
"I believe in smaller, more responsible government. I believe in balanced budgets and I believe governments are spending too much money. I'm concerned about the debt, especially on the next generation. I believe it's going to be harmful for them," he said.
"I've been around for a little while and my sense of history suggests to me that the Liberal party will not be elected this time out. That's why I joined the Conservative Party . . . to provide a free enterprise alternative," he said.
