When Mike Hurley announced his independent run for mayor of Burnaby, his Green Party opponent, Joe Keithley, dismissed him as motivated by a personal grudge against longtime incumbent Derek Corrigan.
“In an overview of it, I don’t think he’ll make that much difference,” Keithley said of Hurley on June 26.
The frontman of punk band DOA said he thought Hurley, a retired firefighter and former union president, was seeking vengeance against Corrigan for a years-long contract dispute that ended in arbitration in 2016.
Seventeen days after making the comments, Keithley dropped out of the mayoral race and endorsed Hurley.
On June 26, mayoral candidate Joe Keithley suggested Mike Hurley was running to unseat Derek Corrigan as a personal grudge over firefighters’ disputes with the city. Two weeks later, Keithley dropped out and endorsed Hurley. #vanpoli #Burnaby #bbyelxn18 pic.twitter.com/MhWeMnd0wW
— KelvinGawley (@KelvinGawley) July 15, 2018
The sudden change of heart was motivated, Keithley said, by a desire to see Corrigan ousted after 16 years as mayor.
“We need a fair-minded, open-minded mayor to make a progressive change in Burnaby – that's the most important thing,” he said. “And I don't believe Mr. Corrigan is fair or open minded, so Mike would be a great change.”
Keithley now plans to seek a council seat with fellow Greens Rick McGowan and Carrie McLaren. He said the party will announce at least one more council candidate in the coming weeks, as well as one or two school board candidates.
“I'm surprised that Keithley would withdraw his name and indicate he wants to support Hurley when he probably defined Hurley's reasons for running very clearly,” Corrigan said.
The Burnaby Citizens Association (BCA) party member, who has sat in the mayor’s chair since 2002, said Keithley was right when he said Hurley’s campaign is motivated by the interests of firefighters.
“I think that's exactly what Hurley is doing and I think that it's pretty clear that he has the backing of the firefighters and has utilized that to assist his campaign,” he said. “I think you would have to be pretty naive not to think that impact is happening out there.”
Even as opposition appears to be consolidating against him, Corrigan said he was not worried about his chances in the Oct. 20 election.
“I'm never nervous about the race,” he said.
Corrigan said he and current councillors – all BCA members – would run on their “tremendous record.” He said voters would have a clear choice when it comes time to vote.
“They can have the firefighters' union running the city or they can have a council, like ours, that's produced a very balanced and thoughtful government over a number of elections,” he said.
Hurley has repeatedly denied Corrigan’s assertions about his motivations for running.
“It's not the first time Derek has made something up,” he said. “The firefighters in Burnaby are well respected in the community and they don't need my help in looking after their business.”
Hurley said he was “delighted” that Keithley decided to endorse him.
“He's put his faith in my leadership, it seems, and the Greens … realize I'm someone they can work with and someone they can collaborate with to get some of their ideas to the table.”
