The Lake Independence Executive Committee that had gotten Cordel Hydel elected three times - and which had also supported Schakron - won't back Martin Galvez.

A release from Committee Chairperson, Cardinal Usher, and Campaign Manager, Evan Garnett, this afternoon says quote, "The PUP Lake Independence Executive Committee announces that as of today, Monday, February 20, the Committee is officially standing down." It says that when Representative Cordel Hyde stepped down, quote, "the Committee opted as good PUP's to support the Standard Bearer Designate (Yoklanda Schakron), a candidate that was proposed entirely by the Party's leadership." End quote.

But, now things have changed, and the release explains, quote, "In the wake of the disqualification of the proposed candidate and the Party's selection of a replacement, we felt the need to reconsider our position."

So they are not with Martin Galvez, and the release ends with a lamentation saying, quote, "In hindsight, we should have stood down as a committee immediately after our long-time area representative withdrew his candidacy. Not having done so then, we are doing it now."

It is a major blow for Galvez's candidacy because the committee - as we've explained - is really the cornerstone of any political campaign - and without it - veteran campaigners will tell you, it is difficult to campaign effectively. This is the second PUP Committee to have stood down - the first was in the Albert division a few weeks ago.