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Maple Ridge mayoralty race down to four

Mike Shields withdraws from election
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Mike Shields has withdrawn from 2018 Maple Ridge mayoralty face. (THE NEWS/files)

The Maple Ridge electoral race is now down to a field of four candidates after Mike Shields announced his withdrawal as a candidate on the weekend.

Shields wrote to the city on Saturday saying that he was withdrawing from the race and on Tuesday added that his views on drug issues led him to step aside.

“As such – in my opinion, at least – continuing my candidacy would be counterproductive to both on-going campaign dialogue, as well as future prospects for the region,” Shields said in a letter to the city that he posted on Facebook.

Even though he’s pulled out of the election, his name still will be on the ballot when people vote in the Oct. 20 civic election because it’s too late to change the ballots, said Maple Ridge chief election officer Laura Benson.

He said on Facebook that he had spent four days at Anita Place Tent City.

“And whereas my primary platform plank was economic development, as a business person I cannot justify investing in a city which has fundamentally legitimized Schedule 1 drug use.”