FILE PHOTO - Shelley Cook has been acclaimed as the B.C. NDP candidate in the upcoming Kelowna West byelection.

(JENNA HICKMAN / iNFOnews.ca)

WEST KELOWNA – Shelley Cook has been acclaimed as the B.C. NDP candidate in the forthcoming byelection in the riding of Kelowna West.

The byelection was called following the resignation of former Premier and B.C. Liberal leader Christy Clark after her government lost a confidence vote weeks after the general election. 

Cook ran for the NDP against Clark in that election.

“I’m honoured to run again as the B.C. NDP candidate in my home riding of Kelowna West, and to stand with Premier John Horgan,” Cook says in a media release. “I’m so proud of the work John Horgan's BC NDP government has done to make life more affordable, deliver better services to people, and promote good-paying jobs and opportunity for everyone. I'm eager to be a part of what comes next.”

In addition to her work leading Kelowna's chapter of the John Howard Society, Cook chaired the City of Kelowna’s Housing Committee and the

A third-generation Okanagan resident, Cook is the former executive director of the John Howard Society, chair of the City of Kelowna’s Housing Committee and the Treatment Pillar for the Central Okanagan Four Pillars Coalition.

Premier John Horgan says Cook will be an exceptional MLA who has worked with community groups and local government on issues like affordable housing and the overdose crisis.

“She has great ideas and deep, strong ties to the community here. It’s so important for Kelowna West to have a representative who will stand up and work hard on the issues that matter to the people who live here," Horgan says in the release.

Former MLA Ben Stewart is the B.C. Liberal's candidate in the upcoming byelection.

The government has until Feb. 4, 2018 to call a byelection.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2017