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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 11 ,2 01 8 | 12 It appears as though po- litical tensions are rising on Twitter as we approach the 2018 municipal elec- tion. Beisan Zubi, who is running for Waterloo Re- gional council as a Water- loo representative, tweet- ed on Thursday that she was upset by a "fellow can- didate" who called her an "ethnic" to her face at an event. "I gently told them that was not an appropriate term by which to refer to anyone, let along in a polit- ical context," she tweeted. Jane Mitchell, to whom the tweet was directed, re- sponded. "Beisan I hope you are not referring to me," said Mitchell. "If you are that is taking our conversation completely out of context and leaving out your part in it." Mitchell then claimed that Zubi asked her to "step" aside" because she felt the two were splitting the vote, which would lead the men, Jim Erb and Sean Strickland, to victory. "You told me you are a woman of colour, young and in the tech sector. I re- plied to you that I had worked in tech and have worked side by side with ethnic groups," Mitchell continued. Mitchell, who has long been an advocate of wom- en in politics, continued: "I feel sad that you feel that the only way to step into a post is to ask another woman to "step aside" I wish you nothing but the best in the coming elec- tion." Zubi said the request for Mitchell to step aside was not related to her age, but her time in the seat. "It really has nothing to do with Jane's age, but the fact is that she's occupied the same position for 18 years, aiming for 22+. It's about a fresh perspective in politics, and I never work about career politi- cians' ability to find other work, (to be honest)." WATERLOO REGIONAL COUNCIL CANDIDATES SPAR ON TWITTER ADAM JACKSON ajackson@waterloo chronicle.ca Beisan Zubi and Jane Mitchell went head-to-head on Twitter, with Zubi claiming that Mitchell called her an "ethnic" and Mitchell claiming Zubi asked her to step aside. Both are running for regional council as a Waterloo representative. Adam Jackson/Metroland NEWS