COQUITLAM — As the ethnic vote scandal continues to consume the B.C. Liberal Party, its lone Tri-Cities MLA appears to be distancing himself from the premier.

On Monday, as Premier Christy Clark faced her caucus to address the growing scandal now dubbed “ethnic-gate,” Coquitlam-Burke Mountain MLA Doug Horne didn’t offer a ringing endorsement of the premier.

When asked by The NOW if he still supports the premier, the MLA replied: “I support our party, I’m running as a B.C. Liberal candidate and I believe in the free-enterprise coalition that our party represents.”

When pressed again with the same question, Horne replied: “The premier is the leader of our party, she will lead us into the next election and the people will make a choice.

“I believe I’ve done a very good job for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain and I’m hoping the people of Coquitlam-Burke Mountain will re-elect me.”

But the MLA wasted no time blasting the leaked strategy that has embroiled his party during the last week, calling it “disturbing.”

“It’s certainly not what I believe in, and it’s not what I would condone,” he said, adding he and his caucus members never saw the memo until it was made public.

“I see it as wrong. Especially in my riding, there’s a very ethnic, diverse population and I’ve tried very hard to reach out. It’s not about political expediency. It’s about genuine interest in reaching out and really embracing and attracting and engaging people.”

Last Wednesday, the opposition NDP dropped a bombshell on the government after it released a leaked document that included a Liberal strategy to woo ethnic voters prior to the May election.

A day later, Clark apologized in a written statement, and on Friday her chief of staff Kim Haakstad resigned.

An investigation into the scandal was also called to ensure no public funds were used in the creation of the document.

Horne said issuing an apology was “the right thing to do,” adding the party needs to get to the bottom of the scandal and make sure it doesn’t happen again.