An openly gay candidate running in this fall's municipal election isn't letting a homophobic message spray-painted on one of his campaign signs deter him from his bid to become a member of London's city council.
Shawn Lewis was notified by a supporter on Saturday afternoon that one of his election signs on Calgary St. had been vandalized. Expecting simple graffiti damage, the 46-year-old arrived to change out the sign and was shocked and disheartened by the image that had been added. Male genitalia had been spray painted in green near a picture of Lewis' face.
"It was hurtful and disappointing because I have seen the community in London progress so far in the years that I have been here in terms of their acceptance and openness to the LGBTQ community," said Lewis, who is running in Ward 2. "It was a sucker punch... I really thought we were moving beyond that kind of nonsense. It was really disheartening to see that it is still out there."
While Lewis believes this was a personal attack against him, he initially struggled with whether or not he should report the incident to police.
"I know how busy police are with their workload, they deal with all kinds of awful things every day, and they do their best for us and I didn't want to add to that," said Lewis. "But after I slept on it, I felt this is directed at me, this is a message to me personally, and this is an anti-gay, homophobic message and I need to do something because if I don't it's going to happen again and again."
London police officers told Lewis they would be investigating the act of vandalism as a potential hate crime.
Since filing his nomination papers in May, Lewis has had signs knocked over, damaged, and stolen.
"It just makes me that much more determined," said Lewis. "We need a city council that reflects our community. It is a city council I feel deserves common sense voices to represent us and I've heard from so many people in Ward 2 that they like what I am saying and they want me to be their representative. So frankly, it gives me the energy to get right back out there today, knock on more doors, and talk to more voters."
Lewis also stressed the hateful defacing of his sign is not reflective of the London he has come to know and love. He has received numerous messages of support from the community and believes the vandalism is the work of a few bad apples.
"I don't for a minute want people to think this is indicative of a large anti-gay sentiment in the city," said Lewis. "This frankly at the end of the day, is one or two knuckle-draggers who can't pull themselves into the 21st century and that is a shame for them, but doesn't reflect on the community as a whole."
