Hamilton’s LGBTQ activist makes a run for the Liberals

A Hamilton activist with ties to the NDP has announced that if she wins the nomination, she’ll run in the provincial election…for the Liberals.

Deirdre Pike has been involved in election campaigns before but always from the sidelines.

“I’ve made financial donations and I’ve assisted a bit here and there, volunteering on campaigns, always NDP.

She says it was a meeting with the Premier in December that made her feel that the Liberals were more in line with her social justice agenda than the NDP. Pike has long been an activist in Hamilton, particularly in the LGBTQ community, and in anti-poverty circles.

“When I said empty fridges, empty promises, I see now that there are policies in place already to change that.”

She acknowledges the Liberals have been in power for most of her activist years, but feels the NDP have been silent on poverty. She’s torn about the friendships that will change.

She’ll be running against NDP leader Andrea Horwath, a friend of her partner’s, who has dined in her home, who she previously supported in campaigns.

“There’s some clear displeasure from people that I’ve worked with, and who have been friends of mine.”