To the editor:
Re: "Musings on potential B.C. election candidates," June 8.
Though a seasoned and astute observer of the local political scene, Allen Garr is surely off the mark in judging the B.C. Liberals to be odds-on favourites to win Vancouver-Fraserview in the next provincial election. In Fraserview, the B.C. Liberals bear the stigma of having waged an anonymous smear campaign in 2009 against the NDP candidate, in the course of which they exceeded election spending limits and violated other provisions of the Election Act. As a result, Kash Heed, the Liberal MLA, was fined $11,000 and charges were laid against two of his campaign workers.
While Mr. Garr may think otherwise,
NDP members in Fraserview did the right thing last November in re-nominating Gabriel Yiu. Mr. Yiu came a close second in the 2009 election and might well have won the seat had it not been for the Liberals' unscrupulous tactics. It's only fair that he should have been given the chance to run again.
This time, moreover, Yiu is likely to win, not least because his election would allow the community to send a powerful message to those who would subvert the democratic process. As for the Liberals, it will take more than merely replacing a disgraced incumbent for them to stave off defeat. The case of former federal MP David Emerson is highly instructive in that regard.
Stephen Phillips, Vancouver
