BC NDP leader John Horgan likes his party鈥檚 chances in the Central Okanagan, despite its unsuccessful political record.
鈥淭he candidate we have running (in 琉璃神社 West) against our political vagabond premier, who ambled into town a few years ago, has deep roots in the community,鈥� said Horgan at a Thursday morning town-hall meeting that had more members of the media in attendance than the public.
鈥�(Shelley Cook) is well respected and well regarded and I am confident in her chances.鈥�
He said he felt similarly about the other two Central Okanagan candidates who joined him.
Harwinder Sandhu, the candidate for the 琉璃神社 Mission riding is a healthcare professional 鈥渨ith a good understanding of the issues in the area,鈥� he said.
Erik Olesen, the candidate for 琉璃神社 Lake Country, is the party鈥檚 鈥測outh proxy (and) demonstrating that B.C. is a continuum of seniors and young people.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about our three candidates here and I鈥檓 very excited about our prospects,鈥� Horgan said.
The Central Okanagan has often been called the 鈥渃radle of free enterprise鈥� and the electorate has never sent a BC NDP member to Victoria.
When Clark lost her own riding of Vancouver Point-Grey in the July 2013 provincial election, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that she would head to valley and she did. During the 琉璃神社 West by-election, she won with 62.8 per cent of votes. Her NDP competitor Carole Gordon was second, earning only 29.66 per cent of the vote.
Fellow BC Liberals, Steve Thompson in 琉璃神社 Mission and Norm Letnick for 琉璃神社 Lake Country each won their ridings during the election by 56 per cent.
That, said Horgan, doesn鈥檛 mean there won鈥檛 be change.
鈥淚 come from Vancouver Island that has a rich tradition of electing social democratic,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t becomes habit forming 鈥� we had a discussion last night with people saying I always voted Socred or Liberal because my grandparents did, and the answer that Shelley offered was 鈥榳hy don鈥檛 you vote NDP for your kids or your grandkids?鈥欌��
Changing entrenched behaviours, he said, will be the only way to bring needed improvements to the area.
鈥淲hat did Einstein say? 鈥業f you keep doing the same things over and over again you鈥檙e going to get the same results,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚 believe the people of 琉璃神社 are ready and willing to vote for people who are going to work for them.鈥�
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Across every corner of B.C., he said, people are tired of a government that鈥檚 ignoring and neglecting them.
鈥淲e have candidates that are living, breathing examples of that and I know the people around this table and the people in 琉璃神社 want to have someone that鈥檚 going to roll up their sleeves and work for them, not just the people who go to the big fundraisers,鈥� he said.
The brief morning event was a clear sign that the election campaign was well underway, despite the fact the writ had yet to be dropped. That was something Horgan didn鈥檛 shy from.
鈥淧eople said to me, 鈥榳hy are you starting so early?鈥� and I said 鈥︹�機hristy Clark only knows one speed and that鈥檚 campaign speed,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淪he hadn鈥檛 been governing and she hasn鈥檛 been taking care of issues that matter to the people. So, we rolled out a pretty sweet looking bus a couple of days early and all of a sudden this is revolutionary.鈥�
Horgan said he intends to speak with the electorate in their own communities 鈥渦napologetically.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to run away and we鈥檙e going to lay out a platform that speaks to the need of communities and I鈥檓 excited about it,鈥� he said.
When that platform will be released and in what fashion it may be distributed has yet to be revealed.
At the meeting, however, he focused his attention on seniors and families. Thousands of seniors are on wait lists for affordable housing, with waits for subsidized seniors housing taking longer than two years, he said.
He also said they have a plan to start $10 a day childcare. It鈥檚 something, he said, that would help all seniors
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