WEST NIP. FACES $50,000 UP IN SMOKE

Pot Advocate Won't Drop Out Of Mayor's Race

A pot advocate campaigning for a third time to become mayor of West
Nipissing defended his democratic right this week to run for political office.

Michel Ethier said Wednesday he has no plans to withdraw from the
mayor's race even if he is the only candidate challenging incumbent
Joanne Savage.

"I have no intention of throwing in the towel," said Ethier. "If she
wants to pull out . . . that's fine with me."

With acclamations expected in each of the community's seven wards,
there's talk on the street Ethier should withdraw his candidacy
because the municipality will be required to finance as much as
$50,000 for an election for a mayoral campaign that most residents
won't take seriously.

Savage said she would never suggest anyone should be forced to
withdraw from an election campaign. But she said residents are upset
at the possibility of footing the bill for an election only to hear a
platform they've all heard before.

"At what cost are you willing to make a point?" Savage asked.

Ethier, 49, finished a distant third to winner Gary O'Connor and
runner-up Raymond Brouillette in 1998 and garnered 63 votes in his
second attempt at the mayor's seat in 2003. He has also run for the
Marijuana Party in the last two federal elections.

"I think it's unfortunate," said Ward 4 Coun. Yvon Marleau,
suggesting Ethier reconsider his candidacy should no one else enter
the race by today's 5 p.m. nomination deadline.

Marleau, who has opted not to seek re-election, also acknowledges
every resident's democratic right to run for office. But he said
residents will have pay for Ethier to exercise that right for a third
time, when he's not taken seriously in the community.

Ethier, who's currently behind bars at North Bay Jail awaiting trial
for marijuana-related charges, said he expects to be released next
month in time to run his campaign. He was also behind bars during the
2003 election and blames so few votes on a poor campaign.

Ethier said he doesn't doubt there's talk in the streets about the
mayoral race, but insists he is a serious candidate.

A minister with the pro-pot Church of the Universe, Ethier said he
would like to see West Nipissing farmers embrace hemp as crop. With
past pilot projects showing hemp can be grown as a legitimate a crop
in Northern Ontario, Ethier said proper harvesting equipment is all
that needed.

He said there would then be potential in West Nipissing for a hemp
processing plant. Ethier would also like to see the community embrace
wind power.

His platform also focuses on recycling and the environment, as well
as de-amalgamation or increased government funding to cover ongoing
costs that have been borne as a result of the move in 1999.