The Ontario Liberals dropped another candidate, this time over a homophobic slur the candidate says he made when he was only 15 years old.
“All Ontarians deserve to have a safe community around them, and comments like those make it more difficult to earn that trust. I apologize unequivocally for any harms that they have caused, and I will continue to learn from previous mistakes,” said former candidate Alex Mazurek on Facebook.
Mazurek, now 23, apparently made the Facebook post eight years ago, dropping a six-letter f-bomb.
“To put it into context, I was just starting high school. This is not an excuse to minimize the reason that this is an issue, but I would also like to make clear that we’re holding a child to the same standards as the adult writing this statement today,” Mazurek continued.
While many would forgive comments made by candidates when they were in their adolescence, the Ontario Liberals were fast to condemn Mazurek, calling his behaviour “reckless.”
“I think it’s really important for leaders to take decisive action when candidate behaviour that is irresponsible, that is reckless, that is not what we stand for is dealt with in the most decisive way possible. So I will take a look immediately following this event, and if that is the case, he will no longer be a candidate for us,” said Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca of the former candidate.
It isn’t clear if, when put under a microscope, Del Duca thinks that there’s a single person on the planet who hasn’t posted or sent a message of an inflammatory nature since the advent of social media.
Mazurek’s departure marks the third liberal candidate to drop out in a single week. He will now be replaced Audrey Festeryga, who presumable didn’t drop an f-bomb on Facebook in her teens.
