Offering lunch to a homeless man on the condition that he shotgun a beer isn't something Port Moody, B.C. mayoral candidate Rob Vagramov says he would do today.
But four years ago, not long before the youthful politician was first elected to city council, he did just that in a video he personally recorded and uploaded to Facebook.
Vagramov, who is now 28, had been nominated to perform a "random act of kindness" – a social media trend similar to the Ice Bucket Challenge – and decided to play along by buying a sandwich for a homeless person. But the offer came with a catch.
"Hey man, you hungry?" he asks the homeless man in the video. "One condition though – do you know how to shotgun a beer?"
After they both chug their drinks and Vagramov hands over the meal, the homeless man appears appreciative, and Vagramov wishes him well before walking away.
"I guess that's it. Spread the love. West Coast," the candidate says.
On Wednesday, Vagramaov told CTV News he believes his heart was in the right place, but he can see why people would take issue with the video.
"It wasn't the best choice," he said. "I wouldn't be doing that today."
Earlier this week, the mayoral hopeful recorded another Facebook video where he analyzed his actions along with homelessness advocate Christina Gower.
He told Gower he learned a lot over his first four years in office, during which he joined the Tri-Cities Homelessness & Housing Task Group, and now cringes when he looks back on his choices.
"It's hard to admit that we were on the wrong side of a position … it seems like the more you learn, the more open-minded you are," Vagramov says in the Facebook clip.
The next day, Karen Rockwell, a former city councillor, shared the original shotgun video on a Port Moody Facebook group. Reaction was split between critics who called it "disgusting" and supporters who credited Vagramov for highlighting homelessness and affordability issues during his campaign.
So far, it's unclear what impact the video might have on the mayoral race, which is between Vagramov just one other candidate: incumbent Mike Clay. Vagramov said he's hopeful it will spark a larger conversation about the government's failure to address homelessness.
"If we have failed the young people in the middle class with housing in Metro Vancouver, how do we have any hope of solving the warzone that we see downtown as far has homelessness is concerned?" he said.
CTV News reached out to Clay for a reaction Wednesday but the candidate wasn't available.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Allison Hurst
