British ColumbiaTownship of Langley Mayor Eric Woodward has filed a defamation lawsuit against the person he defeated last election, one of his main critics on council, and a number of other individuals in connection to an anonymous Facebook group and website critical of his mayorship.Rich Coleman and Kim Richter among those named in complex lawsuit over anonymous website and Facebook groupJustin McElroy · CBC News · Posted: Sep 12, 2025 10:26 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoTownship of Langley Mayor Eric Woodward is pictured during a Metro Vancouver board of directors meeting in Burnaby on Nov. 25, 2022. He’s filed a defamation lawsuit against numerous political rivals. (Ben Nelms/CBC)Township of Langley Mayor Eric Woodward has filed a defamation lawsuit against several political opponents in connection to an anonymous Facebook group and website that has been critical of his mayorship. The lawsuit is against the person he defeated last election, one of his main critics on council and a number of other individuals.”It was just not acceptable that these kinds of accusations would be made anonymously and advertised throughout our community,” said Woodward in an interview with CBC News.People named in the lawsuit include Rich Coleman, the longtime former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister who ran against Woodward for mayor in 2022 and was defeated, Kim Richter, a longtime Langley township councillor and fierce critic of Woodward, and a number of other people and companies. Woodward’s legal action — which was jointly filed by him and fellow Township of Langley councillors Rob Rindt and Timothy Baillie — began in May, and focused on the website The Langley Monitor and the Facebook group Langley Township Watch. Central to the suit is a post on The Langley Monitor and a series of Facebook videos criticizing two contracts for fire trucks and equipment worth approximately $11 million. The posts focus on the relationship between Woodward and the owner of the company awarded the two contracts.In court documents, Woodward’s lawyer argues the videos and posts imply a quid-pro-quo agreement that would lead the viewer to conclude corrupt actions had taken place.”They contained a number of claims that are quite serious and posted anonymously,” Woodward told CBC News. “And you know, you just can’t allow that to stand.”WATCH | Langey township mayor files defamation suit against political rivals: Langley township mayor sues political rivals over social media accusationsTownship of Langley Mayor Eric Woodward has filed a defamation lawsuit against the person he defeated last election, one of his main critics on council and a number of other individuals in connection to an anonymous Facebook group and website critical of his mayorship.The lawsuit alleges Coleman is a director of the organization that funded the Facebook group, while Richter is alleged to have participated in disseminating the content.Neither Woodward’s allegations, nor the allegations made against him in the anonymous posts, have been tested in court. Coleman told CBC News he couldn’t comment on the legal action, while Richter did not respond to requests for comment. Alleged $250K campaign In a Sept. 5 affidavit made public this week, Woodward’s legal team says it won a court order that compelled Meta to name the creator of the Langley Township Watch group: Angelo Isidorou, the executive director of the B.C. Conservative Party and its campaign director in the 2024 election.In those documents, Isidorou’s company, Fountainhead Communications Ltd., is contracted by a numbered company — of which Coleman is a director — to provide digital media management, communications and branding services. Isidorou’s company charged $250,000 for their services: $100,000 for work and $150,000 for advertisements to spread the content. The affidavit goes on to include text messages and emails between Isidorou and Coleman that Woodward’s team says it was able to obtain.The messages and emails show several texts and emails that are alleged to have been sent by Coleman to Isidorou and Micah Haince — a political organizer who was executive director of a non-profit funded partly by Chip Wilson to elect more right-wing candidates to political office — organizing potential content and arranging invoices.In one example included in the affidavit, an email account allegedly belonging to Coleman forwards an email to accounts appearing to belong to Isidorou and Haince, with the subject line “NDA Agreements.” The forwarded email originally came from an account with the same name as Coun. Kim Richter’s husband, Bob Richter.”I’m okay with the changes they made,” the email reads.”They will also have videos that will go painting him as a misogynist. Also have the fire truck info, borrowing stuff etc. I will send you their contacts and we should reach out this week.”While Haince is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, Isidorou is not. One of the documents in the affidavit is a December 2024 email from Isidorou to Coleman, with the subject line “final invoice,” and the sentence “termination of agreement” in the body.Neither the lawsuit or affidavits name a specific person or company for directly creating the videos and articles at the centre of the suit. ABOUT THE AUTHORJustin is the Municipal Affairs Reporter for CBC Vancouver, covering local political stories throughout British Columbia.
Langley township mayor sues political rivals over social media accusations
