Liberal leadership wannabe Kevin Falcon fires campaign aide amid sexual harassment allegations

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BC Liberal leadership hopeful Kevin Falcon has fired a male member of his campaign staff following allegations of sexual harassment made and posted on social media by Diamond Isinger, an employee of a rival candidate.

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Isinger, Michael Lee’s campaign manager, said she tried to resolve the matter privately with Falcon and his team, but “without apology or consequences to date” made the decision to go public on Sunday, according to the statement she shared on Twitter. . .

In the statement, Isinger said an “unexpected” confrontation with four Falcon campaign workers on October 29 ended with her in tears. She alleges in her statement that a male staff member made “sexually suggestive jokes” about her while the group was sitting in a downtown Vancouver restaurant.

Isinger said that when she pip In her own defense, the assistant was enraged and yelled “uptight bitch”, “fucking c” and other misogynistic profanity for over 15 minutes. Isinger said this wa s witnessed by restaurant customers and service staff.

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“He insisted that I shake his hand to reconcile myself to him between these outbursts. When I refused, he scolded me again. Others at the table let this go on for a long time while I burst into tears, “Isinger said in her statement.

When contacted by Postmedia, Isinger declined to comment further on the matter.

Vancouver Police Sgt. Steve Addison said the department is aware of the allegations related to Friday’s incident, although it said it could not reveal whether a police report had been filed.

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On Monday morning, in a statement posted on Twitter, Falcon said he had apologized to Isinger and had spoken with the staff member in question. “According to the conversation, there was enough recognition of Diamond’s account and I have ended the relationship between him and my campaign team.”

In the statement, Fal Con said he asked campaign co-chair Puneet Sandhar to hire legal counsel to launch an external investigation into the incident, which he called “reprehensible” and “wrong.”

“I am really upset and disappointed by the actions involved. … I hope to receive the full cooperation of all those involved in order to act on subsequent recommendations, ”added Falcón.

Neither Falcon nor Isinger identified the restaurant where the incident occurred.

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Support from other politicians, including former Prime Minister Christy Clark, has reached Isinger through social media.

“By speaking up, you are helping to make a change,” Clark commented on Twitter. “I know many of us are completely upset by what you describe, but also encouraged by your decision to go public. We know it could have been any of us just as easily. “

Leadership candidates Renee Merrifield, Val Litwin and Gavin Dew also shared their comments online.

“I am very proud of Diamond for standing up. In doing so, he opposes all misogyny, chauvinism, and discrimination. Silence is complicity. I will not remain silent or be a keeper of secrets, ”Merrifield tweeted in response to Isinger’s statement.

The BC Liberal Party will elect its new leader on February 5.

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