- David Popescu (politician)
-
J. David Popescu is a perennial candidate for public office in the Canadian city of Sudbury, Ontario, who has run in several federal, provincial and municipal elections.[1] He was convicted of willfully promoting hatred against homosexuals in August 2009.[2]
Contents
Private life and early campaigns
Popescu worked at Inco in his twenties, but quit in 1972 after converting to fundamentalist Christianity. He has said that he does not campaign to win votes, but rather to warn citizens of the judgment he believes will be visited upon them by the Christian God if they do not live their lives in accordance with Biblical commands.[3]
Popescu believes that the decisions of elected officials have made it difficult for citizens to avoid what he considers to be sinful activity. "The casino, pornography and undoing the Lord's Day are opening the door for sin that destroys," he said in the 2000 municipal election. "If we violate (God's) standards, we're doomed from the start."[4] On other occasions, he said that popular music stores should be closed because they "promote Satanic music", and that Sudbury's annual Dragon Boat races should be canceled because the boat designs invoke the devil.[5] Popescu has also said that natural disasters and other catastrophes are divine judgment for earthly sins.[6]
He has used his political campaigns to distribute a self-produced video, in which he delivers a series of sermons. In 2003, the Sudbury Star noted that this recording contained messages directed against homosexuals. In one sermon, Popescu says, "God burnt five homosexual cities alive, including women and children, as an example of what we are supposed to do to them. Instead, our evil government gives them rights."[7]
Popescu was charged with assault against his elderly mother in 2003, after a family member reported seeing a large bruise on her arm.[8] Testifying at a bail court hearing, Popescu said that he had given his mother a "small swat and a light shake" to get her attention during a dispute over the placement of towels in their home. He expressed remorse for his action, but argued that it was not serious and did not constitute assault. He also testified that he had been violent toward his mother in the past, but said that this abuse had ended more than 25 years earlier. Acting as his own representative at trial, Popescu said that he had committed "unintentional assault" while "disciplining" his mother.[9] Under cross examination from the assistant crown attorney, he also testified that he had lived with his mother his entire life, had not worked in the community since 1972, and survived off his mother's small pension.[10]
Popescu, who lived at a Salvation Army men's shelter after being granted bail, was found guilty of assault following a day-long trial. The presiding judge expressed "very grave concerns" about the effect of Popescu's controlling behaviour over his mother. He was sentenced to three years probation, and required to report for a psychological assessment.[11] He subsequently received part-time work at the Salvation Army, and continued to protest his innocence.[12]
During the 2007 provincial election, he distributed a DVD entitled Bible Science vs. Evolution Myth.[13]
2008 election controversy
Statement on homosexuals at debate
At a candidates' debate staged for Sudbury Secondary School students on September 29, 2008, Popescu stated in response to a question on same-sex marriage that "homosexuals should be executed". Following these statements, the Greater Sudbury Police Service announced that he was under investigation for violating Canada's hate laws.[14] Popescu repeated his previous statements one day after the debate, arguing that they were based on Biblical passages. He said, "I said I believe homosexuals should be executed . . . when I say homosexuals should be executed, I am speaking in terms of government actions. That is the way the Bible puts it."[14]
Response and criticism
Many students who attended the debate expressed their disapproval of Popescu's remarks, and demanded that his microphone be cut off. At the end of the debate, the school principal personally disavowed Popescu's statement.[15] The Sudbury Star subsequently printed an editorial entitled "That's enough of Popescu's bile", describing him as "a religious extremist beyond any measured debate" who "contributes nothing to the democratic process", and calling for him to be banned from future debates.[16]
Gary Kinsman, an advocate for the Sudbury gay and lesbian community, sharply criticized Popescu and his remarks, stating that "He's not simply saying that lesbians or gay men are mentally ill or somehow deviant or criminals. He's saying we should be subject to the death penalty. I think sometimes violence and hatred towards gays and lesbians gets dressed up in sort of a religious guise and is somehow tolerated. I just don't think it should be tolerated at all."[17]
On October 1, the four major party candidates in the riding — Liberal Party incumbent Diane Marleau, Conservative Party candidate Gerry Labelle, New Democratic Party candidate Glenn Thibeault and Green Party candidate Gordon Harris — announced in a joint statement that they would not participate in any further debates in which Popescu was included.[18]
The Rainbow District School Board later announced that it would not invite Popescu to any further debates. Jean Hanson, the board's director of education, was quoted as saying, "We do not tolerate statements that promote hatred or violence in our schools. Such comments are contrary to what is expected in a civil society. There is no justification for this." Regarding the decision to invite Popescu to the debate in the first place, Hanson stated "We cannot predict what candidates will say in public forums but we can certainly take measures to ensure that what happened at Sudbury Secondary School with this particular candidate never happens again."[19]
Sudbury police stated on October 7 that they had completed their investigation, and were referring the matter to the Ministry of the Attorney General.[20]
John Oakley, a talk radio host on Toronto's CFMJ, subsequently interviewed Popescu and Egale Canada executive director Helen Kennedy regarding Popescu's comments. During the interview, Popescu directly stated that Kennedy herself should be executed, leading to a second hate crimes investigation by the Toronto Police.[21]
Popescu later said that said he stood by all the comments that were attributed to him, and that he was not concerned about facing possible criminal charges.[20]
Trial and conviction
On March 5, 2009, the Ministry of the Attorney General announced that they had concluded their investigation, and officially charged Popescu with two counts of willful promotion of hatred under Section 319(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada. Contacted by the Sudbury Star, he again said that he would not retract any of his previous statements.[22] His trial took place on August 7, 2009. Popescu represented himself, and said that he was "repeating what was in the bible when he made the comments". The presiding judge disagreed, saying that he was "not at all satisfied with the explanation by Mr. Popescu that his statements are based on his religious beliefs". He said that Popescu "basically picks and chooses what is in his best interest, according to his interpretation of the bible," and "has clothed his disgraceful attitude to this community of people (gays and lesbians) in a religious context". Popescu was convicted of willfully promoting hatred against homosexuals, and was given a suspended sentence and placed on probation for 18 months.[2]
2010 municipal election
Popescu subsequently stood for office again in the 2010 municipal election, and a brief controversy resulted when he was invited to participate in a debate sponsored by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.[23] Mayoral candidate Marianne Matichuk publicly criticized the Chamber of Commerce for not excluding Popescu from the debate, while candidate Derek Young called Matichuk's move a populist ploy that would both undermine the democratic process and distract from other issues in the debate, and the Chamber of Commerce reiterated that its standing policy when sponsoring political debates was to invite all registered candidates regardless of their personal views.[23] Popescu had already participated in other mayoral debates during the 2010 election campaign without incident, and none of the candidates for mayor, including Matichuk, opted to boycott the Chamber of Commerce debate over Popescu's inclusion.
Electoral record
Federal
2008 federal election : Sudbury edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Expenditures New Democratic Party Glenn Thibeault 15,094 35.15 +3.20 $71,329 Liberal (x)Diane Marleau 12,969 30.20 -11.37 $50,177 Conservative Gerry Labelle 11,073 25.79 +4.11 $85,730 Green Gordon Harris 3,330 7.75 +5.02 $8,704 First Peoples Will Morin 397 0.92 $0 Independent David Popescu 80 0.19 +0.08 $148 Total valid votes/Expense limit 42,943 100.00 $82,461 Total rejected ballots 192 0.45 -0.03 Turnout 43,135 58.51 -7.48 Electors on the lists 73,724 New Democratic Party gain from Liberal Swing -7.3 Note: italicized expenditure totals refer to data that has not yet been finalized by Elections Canada.
2006 federal election : Sudbury edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Expenditures Liberal (x)Diane Marleau 19,809 41.57 -2.62 $78,232 New Democratic Party Gerry McIntaggart 15,225 31.95 +2.09 $38,386 Conservative Kevin Serviss 10,332 21.68 +0.63 $73,294 Green Joey Methé 1,301 2.73 -1.94 $420 Progressive Canadian Stephen L. Butcher 782 1.64 $365 Marxist-Leninist Dave Starbuck 77 0.16 -0.07 $147 Communist Sam Hammond 70 0.15 $280 Independent David Popescu 54 0.11 none listed Total valid votes 47,650 100.00 Total rejected ballots 228 0.48 -0.07 Turnout 47,878 65.99 +5.91 Electors on the lists 72,552 Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.
Provincial
2007 Ontario provincial election : Sudbury edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Expenditures Liberal (x)Rick Bartolucci 19,307 58.77 -9.68 $65,502.20 New Democratic Party Dave Battaino 8,914 27.13 +13.24 $38,488.63 Progressive Conservative Louis Delongchamp 2,605 7.93 -6.15 $12,594.00 Green David Sylvestre 1,608 4.89 +2.06% $1,520.11 Family Coalition Carita Murphy-Marketos 293 0.89 $3,118.15 Independent David Popescu 124 0.38 $17.90 Total valid votes 32,851 100.00 Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 201 0.61 -0.15 Turnout 33,052 51.11 -4.84 Electors on the lists 64,665 Note: Percentage changes are factored for redistribution. Sources: Official 2007 Poll by Poll Results and 2007 Annual Returns, Candidate and Constituency Associations, Elections Ontario.
1999 Ontario provincial election : Sudbury edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Expenditures Liberal (x)Rick Bartolucci 21,732 58.71 +18.06 $52,531.80 Progressive Conservative Mila Wong 10,948 29.58 +2.94 $61,776.00 New Democratic Party Paul Chislett 3,891 10.51 -18.12 not listed Natural Law Bernard Fram 184 0.50 -0.53 $0.00 Independent Ed Pokonzie 159 0.43 +0.03 not listed Independent David Popescu 103 0.28 $123.60 Total valid votes 37,017 100.00 Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 245 0.66 Turnout 37,262 55.69 Electors on the lists 66,904 Note: Percentage change figures are not factored for redistribution.
Municipal
2006 Greater Sudbury municipal election, Mayor of Greater Sudburyedit Candidate Total votes % of total votes John Rodriguez 28,419 51.89 (x)David Courtemanche 16,600 30.31 Lynne Reynolds 8,996 16.42 David Chevrier 429 0.78 Marc Crockford 159 0.29 Ed Pokonzie 92 0.17 David Popescu 76 0.14 Total valid votes 54,771 100.00 2003 Greater Sudbury municipal election, Mayor of Greater Sudburyedit Candidate Total votes % of total votes David Courtemanche 19,152 35.56 Paul Marleau 11,360 21.10 Colin Firth 8,096 15.03 Louise Portelance 5,645 10.48 John Caruso 4,693 8.71 Tom Boyuk 1,930 3.58 Brian R. Gatien 1,280 2.38 Richard Doyon 667 1.24 Mary Fournier Pagnutti 405 0.75 David Chevrier 271 0.50 Yvonne Neison 141 0.26 Robert Maurice 102 0.19 Ed Pokonzie 67 0.12 David Popescu 42 0.08 Total valid votes 53,851 100.00 2000 Greater Sudbury municipal election, Mayor of Greater Sudburyedit Candidate Total votes % of total votes Jim Gordon 44,220 81.0 Mary Fournier Pagnutti 3,923 7.2 Rick Doyon 3,668 6.7 Carl St. John 1,955 3.6 Ed Pokonzie 472 0.9 David Popescu 339 0.6 Popescu also ran in a 1998 municipal by-election to become Regional Municipality of Sudbury Chair. He received 83 votes. The winner was Frank Mazzuca.
It is possible that this list is not complete.
References
- ^ Chris Polehoykie, "Gordon the favourite in historic election", Sudbury Star, 14 October 2000, A1.
- ^ a b "Popescu guilty of promoting hatred", Sudbury Star, August, 2009.
- ^ Chris Polehoykie, "Candidates a sincere, but inexperienced, group", Sudbury Star, 12 November 2000, A3; Harold Carmichael, "Gordon 'deserved to win,' rival says", Sudbury Star, 14 November 2000, A8; "Candidate wants to spread God's word", Sudbury Star, 17 January 2006, A4.
- ^ Chris Polehoykie, "Gordon promises to cut taxes in new city", Sudbury Star, 20 October 2000, A1.
- ^ Bob Vaillancourt, "Mayoral candidates talk roads, God", Sudbury Star, 18 October 2003, A1; Laura Stradiotto, "Mayoral candidate blasts debate", Sudbury Star, 7 November 2003, A3.
- ^ Chris Polehoykie, "Candidates a sincere, but inexperienced, group", Sudbury Star, 12 November 2000, A3. Following the 2000 election, Popescu said that victorious candidate Jim Gordon "deserved to win" for the work he had done for the city. See Harold Carmichael, "Gordon 'deserved to win,' rival says", Sudbury Star, 14 November 2000, A8.
- ^ Rob O'Flanagan, "The Bible guides candidate's campaign", Sudbury Star, 24 October 2003, A3.
- ^ "Law and morals candidate accused of assaulting mother", National Post, 13 June 2003, A8.
- ^ Denis St. Pierre, "'I wanted her to feel it ... to get her to listen'", Sudbury Star, 23 October 2003, A1; Rob O'Flanagan, "The Bible guides candidate's campaign", Sudbury Star, 24 October 2003, A3.
- ^ Denis St. Pierre, "Bible-thumping candidate charged with hitting mother", Sudbury Star, 13 June 2003, A1; Denis St. Pierre, "Comments appear to have 'crossed the line,' police say", Sudbury Star, 30 September 2008, accessed 3 October 2008.
- ^ Lara Bradley, "No jail time for mayoral candidate", Sudbury Star, 25 October 2003, A3.
- ^ "Candidate wants to spread God's word", Sudbury Star, 17 January 2006, A4.
- ^ Harold Carmichael, "Working outside the mainstream", Sudbury Star, 8 October 2007, A6.
- ^ a b Sudbury police investigate independent candidate over gay comments, Canwest News Service, October 01, 2008. When the investigation concludes, the case will be forwarded to a local Crown prosecutor and then to Ontario's Attorney General for a decision on whether or not criminal charges will be laid.
- ^ Brian Macleod, "To print ... was the only choice", Sudbury Star, 4 October 2008, A10.
- ^ "That's enough of Popescu's bile" [editorial], Sudbury Star, 1 October 2008, accessed 3 October 2008.
- ^ Kill gays, candidate says by Angela Scappatura, Sun Media, October 1, 2008 (retrieved on October 11, 2008).
- ^ "Candidates want Popescu barred", Sudbury Star, October 2, 2008.
- ^ Rainbow Board bans Popescu from events, Sudbury Star, 3 October 2008, accessed 3 October 2008.
- ^ a b Election candidate in Sudbury, Ont., faces second probe for anti-gay remarks, Canadian Press (reprinted on Yahoo News), October 7, 2008.
- ^ "Sudbury candidate probed after second anti-gay remark", ctv.ca, October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Popescu charged for comments on gays". Sudbury Star, March 6, 2009.
- ^ a b "Debate participation sparks controversy". Sudbury Star, October 9, 2010
Categories:- Independent candidates in the 2008 Canadian federal election
- Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament
- Christian fundamentalists
- Canadian people of Romanian descent
- Independent candidates in Ontario provincial elections
- People from Greater Sudbury
- Ontario municipal politicians
- Living people
- Canadian criminals
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