Despite being outspoken when it comes to Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, the controversial and newly installed foreign affairs minister, David Emerson, is staying mum when it comes to his reelection prospects.

Emerson did not respond when the Georgia Straight e-mailed several times and phoned his staff in Ottawa for a phone interview.

Kevin Chalmers, former chair of the Campaign to De-Elect David Emerson, was more vocal.

“I hope he runs again so I can kick his ass,” Chalmers said by phone after stepping off a plane from Toronto. “Given the lack of depth in the bench strength there, I can understand why the prime minister would go to him [to replace Maxime Bernier]. On the other hand, it is ironic that when you look at him being in that role—and trying to take Canadian values and democracy and looking at Kosovo or China or what has gone on recently in the world—you wonder, how can this person be an advocate or a voice for democracy under the circumstances?”

Emerson outraged many of his Vancouver Kingsway constituents after his reelection in 2006 when he crossed the floor from the Liberals to the Conservatives after they secured a minority. Chalmers helped get him elected in 2004 and 2006. However, Chalmers and others in the campaign, like card-carrying Conservative Kingsway constituent Mike Watkins, said 80 percent of the riding did not vote for a Conservative candidate.

“How do you lecture Mugabe?” Chalmers added. “”˜You can have an election, Mr. Mugabe, but you need to do it properly to respect the will of the voters?’ That’s just a little bit rich coming from David, isn’t it?”

Jurgen Claudepierre told the Straight he is “still working every day on the [de-elect] campaign”.

“I went by his office this morning to post a new sign,” Claudepierre said. “I go there twice a week, sometimes three. I posted a sign saying, ”˜Congratulations! Now misrepresenting all of Canada, worldwide.’ ”

Claudepierre said he has no intention of slowing down, even if he has to protest against Emerson in Vancouver Quadra, where he is rumoured to be seeking a federal seat away from Vancouver Kingsway. “Wherever he runs in Vancouver, we will be there.”

Nicholas Read, journalism instructor at Langara College and Vancouver Quadra resident, confirmed by phone that he received a call from a pollster about two weeks ago.

“I foolishly didn’t ask whom they were asking the questions on behalf of,” Read said. “But a lot of the questions were about the state of the nation, and then also whom you would support if an election were called today. But it was obvious that they were polling people in Vancouver Quadra. Before he [the caller] did all that, he was asking how we rate names, and the first was Stephen Harper and then there was David Emerson. This was right around the time of the cabinet shuffle, or just before.”

According to Read, the poller listed off “not just the political parties but the candidates representing each party”.

“And the candidate representing the Conservatives was David Emerson,” Read said. “I said, ”˜Wait a minute; are you saying that David Emerson is going to run for the Conservatives?’ I do remember that clearly. The guy, just a functionary asking the questions, said, ”˜Well, that’s what it says here.’ Maybe, given the results of the by-election, they feel Quadra would be a safer riding than Kingsway, as he would be doomed there.”

The Straight left a message at Conservative party headquarters in Ottawa seeking confirmation of the polling, but the party did not respond by deadline.