(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)
January 12, 2024 - 8:30 AM
While B.C. United continues to announce new candidates in Thompson and Okanagan ridings, their rivals are taking their time.
A month after the party announced it would name two candidates for Kamloops amid plenty of buzz last month, a local party executive stepped away with concerns the selection was too rushed.
Now, three months later, they're still vetting potential candidates.
"I would suspect it's going to be sooner than later because it is election year," regional director for the party Corally Delwo said. "However, there has been a massive influx of people all around the province from people who are interested in running for the party."
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The Conservatives have been announcing candidates across the province since the summer after they attained official party status earlier in the year. Only a few candidates have been named in the Okanagan.
Recent polls put David Eby's NDP well ahead, followed by the Conservatives running a surprise second.
While the former BC Liberal Party is staying course, running with two incumbent MLAs in Kamloops and one in Kelowna, the other parties are still quiet on their candidates for the two ridings.
The BC Conservatives have 27 candidates announced across the province, in addition to the two sitting MLAs. In the Southern Interior, the list includes Macklin McCall for West Kelowna-Peachland, Tara Armstrong for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream and David Williams for Salmon Arm-Shuswap.
The New Democrats have been quiet across the province as well.
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Provincial leadership for the BC NDP hasn't allowed local ridings where it currently doesn't have a seat to authorize their nominees yet, according to Kamloops Centre president Tom Friedman.
In an emailed response, he said the riding has "a number of individuals" that are interested in running.
He also said party volunteers are actively recruiting candidates, a sentiment echoed by Kamloops-North Thompson president Rick Turner.
Turner said an announcement for a new candidate could come as late as April or May.
Maria Tokarchuk, president of the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding association for the NDP also said that a candidate is expected to be elected in the Spring of 2024.
The Green Party of BC has also been quiet with just one new candidate, Stephanie Hendy, announced for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream.
The BC United Party, formerly the BC Liberal Party, will be running incumbents for the two Kamloops ridings.
Opposition house leader Todd Stone and former Kamloops mayor Peter Milobar will be swapping seats. Milobar is taking the Kamloops Centre riding, which was renamed Kamloops-South Thompson, and now includes the North Shore and Brocklehurst.
The switch is likely intended to give the party an edge with the former mayor's name remaining familiar to local voters.
Stone will take the Kamloops-North Thompson riding, which Milobar narrowly won in the last election by less than 200 votes against former city councillor Sadie Hunter.
In Kelowna, BC United has elected Pavneet Singh as their candidate for the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding. For the new Kelowna Centre riding, Michael Humer is the only person currently seeking the BC United candidacy while in West Kelowna-Peachland, Stephen Johnston just announced he would also be seeking the BC United candidacy.
In the South Okanagan, former Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes will be representing BC United in Boundary-Similkameen and in the North Okanagan, BC United's candidate is Lumby mayor Kevin Acton.
The BC election will be held on or before Oct. 19.
— With files from Gabrielle Adams.
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