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Robock dropped by the NDP; running as an independent

Cameron Robock will be a candidate in the Estevan constituency in the upcoming provincial election, but it won’t be for the New Democratic Party (NDP).
Cameron Robock
Cameron Robock, right, is pictured with former NDP provincial election campaign manager Frank Quennell, left, and Estevan NDP Constituency Association president Tom O’Sullivan, after Robock won the NDP’s nomination for the Estevan constituency last year. Both Robock and Quennell have been removed from the campaign by the party following a social media controversy last week.

 

Cameron Robock will be a candidate in the Estevan constituency in the upcoming provincial election, but it won’t be for the New Democratic Party (NDP).

NDP Leader Cam Broten announced at a press conference on March 12 the party was removing Robock from its candidate slate, stemming from comments made by Robock on social media. 

It was the latest development involving the party and social media. Four candidates and the NDP’s campaign manager, Frank Quennell, have resigned from the campaign or have been forced out by the party since the provincial election campaign began on March 8. 

In an interview with the Mercury on March 14, Robock said he doesn’t know which social media posts resulted in his ouster, and the party didn’t indicate which posts they found troublesome. His Facebook account was deleted as of Saturday afternoon. 

He was told about five minutes before Broten’s press conference that he would no longer be their candidate in Estevan.  

He was surprised with the NDP’s decision, but he had already been speaking with them about running as an independent.

Once he was informed that he wouldn’t be representing the NDP, Robock said he spoke with his wife, and they decided within an hour that he should run as an independent. 

“I finish what I start,” said Robock. “I had people that are backing me, and a lot of people are still backing me. I can bring awareness to issues, like water quality and twinning the highway.

“If you’re running in a race, and all of a sudden you trip on your feet, you don’t just walk off to the sideline, you dust yourself off and continue. You finish the race.”

People have brought forward a lot of concerns in recent weeks. Not only are they troubled with the slow progress to twin Highway 39, but they also have issues with water quality and the state of other highways, particularly Highway 18 west of Estevan. 

Other people are concerned with the Lean program in health care, the problems with smart metres installed by SaskPower, and the cost overruns associated with the Regina bypass. 

“We’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars thrown out the door,” said Robock. “Now we’re talking about P3s (private-public partnerships) coming in, and the majority of the work is not actually going to be done by the people in Saskatchewan. That’s a big problem, especially right now when we could use the extra jobs.”

Some members of his campaign team, including his campaign manager, campaign secretary and business manager, will shift over to his effort as an independent. The business manager was the only one with ties to the party.

There are local party members who backed him when he was the NDP candidate who can no longer be part of his campaign.

“I have other volunteers who help me door-knock who are not members, and have never been members,” said Robock. “They’ve already recommitted. People who respect what I have to say are going to be helping.” 

Robock said he supports Broten, the party and their decision to block him from running for the party. But he still feels the need to run as an independent. 

Robock was elected by acclamation as the local NDP candidate in February 2015. He has since been campaigning to become Estevan’s next MLA, attending community events and participating in other activities.

The social media issues for the NDP started last week when the Saskatchewan Party revealed that Saskatoon-Northwest candidate Clayton Wilson was found to have repeatedly insulted farmers on social media a few years ago. 

   Wilson stepped down after further investigation revealed he made inappropriate comments about women.

Then Weyburn-Big Muddy candidate Mark Jeworski stepped down after a number of comments made last year, including a couple targeting Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall. 

After Wilson and Jeworski resigned, the NDP looked into the posts of their remaining candidates, and removed Robock and Regina-Walsh Acres candidate Terry Bell.

“We signed up 53 enthusiastic, brand new candidates,” Broten said in his press conference on March 12. “And it is obvious there was a gap in the campaign’s vetting process, specifically related to social media. Yesterday, I directed my campaign team to take another, harder look at the online accounts of candidates.

“There were two instances that went beyond bad jokes and immaturity. Two candidates crossed the line, and I won’t stand for that. As the leader, it is my responsibility to take action, and I have.”

Also dismissed was the NDP’s provincial campaign manager, Frank Quennell, a former MLA, attorney general and cabinet minister. 

The NDP have announced that Tina Vuckovic will be their candidate in the Estevan constituency. Vuckovic is a procurement specialist for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.

The other candidates for the election in the Estevan riding are Lori Carr (Saskatchewan Party), Paul Carroll (Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan), Oscar Karkabatov (Liberal Party of Saskatchewan) and Branden Schick (Green Party of Saskatchewan). 

“When it comes to voting, we should have as many options as possible,” said Robock. “With me running as an independent, we might have up to six different people to vote for, and that’s great.” 

The provincial election will take place on April 4.