Theres one factor that makes you wonder about widespread expectations that the B.C. New Democrats will run away with the next election. Its the strength of the field of candidates the B.C. Liberals are putting together. Premier Christy Clark is lagging badly in most of the measurements used by pollsters. Repeated surveys show widespread disenchantment with her leadership and sustained support for Opposition leader Adrian Dix. It adds up to the strong impression she could get trounced next May.
Given all that, youd expect the candidate selection process for the party would be a matter of just signing up whichever no-hoper is deluded enough to take part in the lost cause. But thats not whats going on. The Liberals are putting together a respectable team. Its a surprisingly strong roster for a party that is running well behind the Opposition and has a number of strikes against it. Heres a sampling:
- He may not have the comedic, loose-cannon approach of the man hes trying to succeed (Kevin Krueger), but Todd Stone has an impressive background in Kamloops. He did a few years as an aide to then-Opposition leader Gordon Campbell, learning politics up close. Then he went back home to Kamloops and built a very successful software company. He was a strong enough candidate to win the Kamloops-South Thompson nomination by acclamation last summer.
- Coralee Oakes has run the Quesnel Chamber of Commerce for years and served two terms on council there. The party featured her as a speaker at its recent Whistler convention. The Cariboo North riding is a wild card. Its held by MLA Bob Simpson, who was elected a New Democrat but broke with the party and became an independent.
- Earlier this week, Abbotsford Mission Liberals picked Simon Gibson to replace retiring MLA Randy Hawes as the Liberal candidate. He has been on Abbotsford council for three decades and teaches at University of the Fraser Valley, which incubated two other Liberal candidates as well (below).
- The party also scooped former Conservative byelection candidate John Martin. He got along so well with his Liberal rival at the time, Laurie Throness, that he later joined the Liberals and will be running in Chilliwack.
- North Island Liberal candidate Nick Facey showed up at the Whistler convention with more than two dozen supporters, an impressive show of strength for a constituency association that hasnt won an election in years. Hes a 25-year-old postgraduate student from a logging family who will be taking on NDP MLA Claire Trevena.
- Theres also been an impressive amount of interest in some of the nominations. No fewer than five people are running for the Liberal nomination in Shuswap, to replace retiring MLA George Abbott. Two local mayors, a councillor and two businessmen are seeking the nomination, to be decided Jan. 5.
- In Penticton, four people ran for the nomination, which was decided in October when Penticton Mayor Dan Ashton won the nod.
- There will also be high-profile face-offs in Vancouver. Former mayor Sam Sullivan will contest the Vancouver-False Creek nomination next year with former MLA Lorne Mayencourt, who now works in the premiers office. And Vancouver-Quilchenas contest next month will feature former deputy minister Andrew Wilkinson and former mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton as prospective nominees.
- The contest between the leaders is always the main event. But in the riding-by-riding contests, candidates can make a difference. And Liberals could be stronger contenders by that measurement than current polls suggest. As the saying goes: Its not one big election, its 85 smaller ones.
- New Democrats have about three-quarters of their candidates picked. Only a handful of current MLAs are retiring, so the partys quota system that dictates female candidates in some ridings wasnt a big factor in putting the team together.
B.C. Conservatives have only a half-dozen candidates named at this point. With just 18 weeks before the campaign starts, its clear the internal fighting thats occupied them for months is having an impact. Most tellingly, leader John Cummins still hasnt committed publicly to a riding. Cummins said Friday the party plans to have 20 candidates named by January, including himself. The fight with dissidents slowed us down, lets not kid ourselves, he said.
B.C. Greens have almost 20 nominees and Liberals couldnt be happier to see them in the field.
