RADICAL MARIJUANA MONICKER 'A SURPRISE'

What's in a name? Quite a lot, it would appear, for federal election
candidate Tim Felger.

Throughout his campaign, Felger promoted himself as the Abbotsford
representative for the Marijuana Party of Canada.

However, Felger was more than a little surprised on election day when
his name appeared on the ballot as Abbotsford's "Radical Marijuana" candidate.

Speaking Wednesday, Felger - who finished last of Abbotsford's five
candidates with 358 votes - said he had "no idea" why the name change occurred.

"I don't really know who authorized that or why they authorized that," he said.

"I heard about it in the afternoon [of election day] and it was quite
depressing.

"I am at the end of my limits with people tearing down my signs. It's
just ridiculous - throwing dog poop at my store and peeing through my
letter box. It was the last straw yesterday, but today I shook it off."

Felger said he does not consider himself "radical."

"I am not in favour of it [the name change] but I am not in charge," he said.

"We do have a president of the party so he may have said that's what
we should do."

As it turns out, that's exactly what happened.

Party leader Blair Longley told The News Wednesday that the Marijuana
Party of Canada became Radical Marijuana a short time after the 2006 election.

While "sorry" that Felger was not aware of the change, Longley added
that it states "quite clearly" in candidate documentation that
Radical Marijuana would appear on election ballots.

In Felger's defence, he said politics in recent years has been made
"so complex" that he understands "how something like that slipped by."

Despite Felger's assertion that he is not radical, Longley says some
of Felger's election signs - which highlight 9/11 and other
controversial issues - make him so.

He also suggested that Felger should get used to the name, if he
wants to represent the party again in future federal elections.

"If at any time he decided to wants to go mainstream, there's all the
big parties he can join, but then he has to shut up about 9/11 and
the money system," he said.

"If he's with us he is free to say anything he wants to say . . . if
you want to be more radical in your presentation we will give you the
freedom to do that."

While Felger achieved essentially the same number of votes as he did
in 2006, he does at least have one claim to fame - beating his own
party's leader.

Longley said Felger did "slightly better than typical," pointing out
that he personally received 183 votes in the Quebec riding of Hochelaga.