As an act of protest, she withdrew from her duties as mayor for three weeks (without pay) by staying in her Port Stanley, Ontario, townhouse and did not campaign during the last three weeks of the 1997 election. Deputy Mayor Grant Hopcroft, who became acting mayor during her absence, became an ardent supporter of issuing the gay pride proclamation after opposing it in 1995 in a recorded vote and refused to allow an appeal of the tribunal decision. Haskett was re-elected to a second term as mayor by a 2-1 landslide over Hopcroft. Haskett used no campaign signs during the 1997 civic election, instead using green-and-gold ribbons.