(MARSHALL JONES / iNFOnews.ca)
April 11, 2019 - 6:00 PM
KELOWNA - Former Vernon mayoralty candidate Eric Olesen is challenging Justin Kulik for the right to run for the NDP in the fall federal election.
Notices were recently sent out to NDP members in the Kelowna-Lake Country riding listing Kulic as the only approved candidate but noting that others may still be seeking the nomination.
The notice had to be mailed out in time for members to receive 14 days notice of the nomination meeting, which is April 28.
Olesen was approved after the notice was mailed out.
He ran for mayor of Vernon last year, finishing third of four candidates with 990 votes. Victor Cumming won with almost 5,000 votes.
Olesen also ran for MLA in Kelowna-Lake Country in 2017. He finished a distant second to Liberal Norm Letnick (4,753 votes to Letnick’s 13,834).
He’s 27 years old and has worked on a number of political campaigns in Ottawa, Prince George, Kelowna and Vernon.
Kulik is an 18-year-old who is finishing high school as well as studying political science at Okanagan College.
He has worked on various lobbying campaigns, including as volunteer coordinator for the Fair Vote Canada-BC campaign leading up to last year’s failed referendum on proportional representation.
Only people who have been party members for more than 30 days can vote. Riding president Maria Tokarchuk told iNFOnews.ca there are about 125 eligible members. There will be no public debate between the candidates.
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