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Medical pot man running for mayor
By Hempology | July 24, 2002
While it’s still somewhat early, Ted Smith is first to declare his mayoral intentions
From the Victoria News, July 24th, 2002
By Don Descoteau
Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe, himself as yet undeclared as a candidate for this fall’s municipal
elections, finally has a challenger for his office.
Medical marijuana advocate and longtime youth development organizer Leon “Ted” Smith last weekend
announced his intention to run for the city’s top job.
He becomes the first candidate to officially declare, in a summer in which political entities
such as the Victoria Civic Electors (for which four current councillors either were elected
under its banner last time or have delcared they will run for in November) have yet to nominate
anyone for the mayoral position.
Smith says he decided to run during a committee of the whole meeting during which the scheduling of
a meeting with Health Canada regarding the medical marijuana issue was left off the agenda.
“I realized that running for city council wasn’t going to resolve the situation, and pin the person
responsible for the continued harassment of our club,” he says of the ongoing battle he and other
medical marijuana advocates face with police and municipalites. “That is the chair of the police
board, which is Alan Lowe.”
Not keen on being labelled a one-issue candidate, Smith, whose platform is based on what he calls
“thoughtful economic development”, says anyone who looks a little deeper into his background will
see that he has been an advocate for youth and social issues for sime time in the city of Victoria.
Smith plans to publicly unveil his campaign and his agenda as mayor in a rally at City Hall next
Monday (July 29) at 2 p.m.
The day, not so ironically, coincides withLowe’s return to work from a one-week holiday.
With his intentions still up in the air, rumours have abounded in teh city as to whether Lowe,
a card-carrying Liberal and professional architect, has his sights set on David Anderson’s Victoria
MP position or is content to campaign for a second term as mayor and third on city council.
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