Shane Jolley of Owen Sound has stepped down as Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Ontario.
In a prepared news release, Jolley says he needs to re-focus on the critical challenges facing the local economy.
Jolley tells Bayshore Broadcasting News Centre, that he also feels he has accomplished what he set out to do in the Green Party.
He says one of the objectives was seeing Mike Schreiner elected as leader of the party.
He also feels he’s established the operational structure of the party and has trained a number of candidates across the province, now ready for next year’s provincial election.
Jolley says he will now focus on his LocalMotive Project, of which he is the coordinator and founder.
He says the project is a citizen-driven localization network in Bruce and Grey counties.
He says one of the most obvious goals is the re-localization of our food system in the two counties but he also feels there’s much that can be done as a region, rather than as separate municipalities.
Jolley says he has plans to hold town-hall-style meetings on his project in Kincadine, Durham and Meaford in the coming months but no dates have been set.
Jolley says he will miss the relationships that politics affords him but will not miss the partisan politics that is played out every day.
He says the idea of just disagreeing with an idea but of the party you belong to, is irksome to him.
When asked if he’ll consider running in municipal politics this year, he said he wasn’t interested.
No indication as to whether or not he would run provincially next year.