Shane Jolley is thumbing his nose at the Green Party.
Jolley has run for the party in the past and came second in a race for MPP in Bruce Grey Owen Sound against Bill Murdoch in 2007.
On Wednesday night — Jolley unexpectedly conceded the party’s nomination in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound for the upcoming provincial election to Don Marshall.
Then the Owen Sound businessman shocked the party further by announcing he’ll run instead as an independent candidate.
Jolley says he can no longer remain involved in politics as a member of a party.
He says party candidates too often put their parties’ concerns ahead of the needs of their constituents.
He also is turned off at the way partisan politics forces people to disagree with each other simply because they belong to different parties.
Party members were surprised by Jolley’s decisions, particularly his choice to run as an independent.
He did not make that decision clear to the members who showed up for the nomination meeting, but revealed it to the media who in turn informed Marshall and party officials.
Green Party of Ontario president Bill Hewitt says that while he is concerned this will split the Green’s base of support, the party is delighted with Marshall as its candidate.
Hewitt says they will throw all of their resources behind him to ensure that he wins a riding that many observers believe is up for grabs following the retirement of longtime MPP Bill Murdoch.
