Mayor Gregor Robertson says he issued a public statement Saturday about separating from his wife because he wanted the public to understand “the kind of B.S” being circulated by the opposition NPA party.
In his first scrum with reporters since he went public with the news, Robertson said Tuesday he couldn’t let rumours persist about the couple’s separation. The statement, which was also attributed to his wife Amy, said the decision to separate was made amicably.
“Frankly, it’s not fair to my family, it’s not fair to my kids and my wife,” he told reporters after a council meeting at city hall. “I’m going to fight back and I think it was important the public understand the kind of B.S that’s being circulated as a political campaign — when there’s no ideas, no candidates coming from the NPA. This is their campaign and that’s not fair.”
Robertson said he doesn’t plan to take any legal action against the NPA, whose vice-president Rob Macdonald was at the centre of the rumours, according to an email the mayor’s party, Vision Vancouver, circulated to media Saturday.
Macdonald had sent a private email June 16 to Vision Vancouver, saying he couldn’t attend a forum on Kinder Morgan’s pipeline proposal because he had to go to a meeting to discuss rumours about what caused Robertson’s marriage breakup.
Vision sent an invitation to Macdonald and all people who signed up for Vision’s updates on events and forums it was hosting. Vision regularly sends out such advisories on a variety of topics, including housing, poverty and the environment.
Vision shared Macdonald’s private email in a press release less than an hour after the mayor’s office issued the statement about the breakup. Amy Robertson has not commented publicly about the separation.
Asked by a reporter whether he believed the breakup would affect his re-election campaign, Robertson said: “No, I don’t think so. It’s behind me at this point and I don’t think it’s something worth even discussing at this point. It’s a personal matter and I’m going to be absolutely focused on city issues and standing on our record that Vision’s had at city council.”
Macdonald told the Courier in an email the NPA was not “involved in any personal attacks on Gregor Robertson, nor am I. But certainly there are rumours about Gregor floating around and I have heard them from several sources, including from mutual friends of Gregor’s and mine.” Macdonald added he had “great respect” for Amy Robertson, who has been “exceedingly kind to my son, and I wish her all the best.”
Macdonald runs family-owned Macdonald Development Corporation and donated almost $1 million to the NPA in the 2011 election campaign. Macdonald has also donated money to Vision Coun. Geoff Meggs and considered the late Jim Green of Vision Vancouver a good friend.
In a letter published in The Vancouver Sun Wednesday, Macdonald wrote: "The Vision propaganda department has maliciously misquoted my private email to the mayor's office regarding rumours about Gregor Robertson's personal conduct while in public office." He ended his letter with: "Gregor Robertson has now issued an absolute, categorical and unequivocal denial of philandering, delivered through his honest spokespeople Marcella Munro and Mike Magee, and presumably when people of that level of integrity issue a denial that will be the end of the story."
The NPA has yet to announce its candidates for this fall’s election, which goes Nov. 15. Robertson and Vision Vancouver are seeking a third majority. The Robertsons have three adult children and a foster son.
