A downtown Victoria political office was the target of a break and enter early Wednesday morning.
The office for Green Party candidate Racelle Kooy at 625 Broughton St. had its front door smashed in and a burglar stole thousands of dollars worth of items.
Victoria Police Department spokesperson Const. Matt Rutherford said police attended the scene shortly after 3:30 a.m.
“Officers did not locate any suspects. The door was secured and our investigation is ongoing,” Rutherford added.
Kooy said electronics, including several laptops used by volunteers, as well as an electric bicycle were stolen during the incident.
“Nobody needs this to happen, those laptops were borrowed for the campaign so those borrowed ones need to be replaced,” Kooy said. “We’re in the thick of all of our last work, entering all the stuff that goes into getting people out to vote, and keeping them mobilized and engaged … The most valuable thing in the final days of a campaign is time, so when we have a disruption it takes time away.”
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Kooy said both VicPD and the City of Victoria were quick to respond and board up the door. Replacement glass was found very quickly to meet the needs of a scheduled media meeting that day.
Additionally, Kooy said the community was responsive with many people phoning in to see if the office needed anything, and physically coming in to try to help.
“That’s the silver lining,” she said. “How people rallied around was incredible.”
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The Green Party has sent out an email to its mailing list asking for help in fundraising to replace the laptops before election night on Oct. 21, with aims of gathering $4,000.
“We’re doing really well, but we’re also a grassroots party– we don’t don’t have the funding of Liberals and Conservatives,” Kooy noted.
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