Haskett re-elected as London’s mayor
By Geoffrey Hale á Special to ChristianWeek
LONDON–London Mayor Dianne Haskett was returned to office by a landslide in a November 10 mayoralty contest which received nation-wide attention.
Haskett took an unpaid leave of absence and withdrew from the campaign three weeks before election day to protest a Human Rights Commission ruling. She claimed that the ruling, which required her to make a declaration in support of gay pride week, was a violation of her freedom of speech and conscience under Canada’s constitution (CW, Nov4/97).
Haskett defeated Deputy Mayor Grant Hopcroft by 63.6% to 31.0% in one of the highest turnouts seen in a London municipal election in recent years. Her victory came despite efforts by Hopcroft and his supporters to turn the Mayor’s religious beliefs and her withdrawal from the campaign into major issues.
A committed evangelical and member of London’s Metropolitan United Church, Haskett has won strong support not only from the evangelical Christian community, but from other faith groups and the broader community for her principled stands on a variety of moral and social issues and her efforts to promote reconciliation among different parts of the community.
