Christy Clark's popularity tested against 7 contenders
General voting day in the Westside-Kelowna byelection is July 10
Premier Christy Clark opened her new campaign headquarters in Kelowna and officially launched her campaign Saturday, as she seeks a seat in the B.C. Legislature.
"Our enemy in this campaign in not the NDP. It's complacency," she told supporters Saturday morning.
With the nomination period closed at 1 p.m. PT Saturday, Elections BC has now posted the list of eight candidates vying for the Westside-Kelowna seat in B.C.'s provincial legislature.
The seat was held by Liberal MLA Ben Stewart, but he resigned earlier this month to allow Premier Christy Clark a chance to run again.
As leader of the majority governing party, Clark assumed the role of premier in May despite not winning a seat in the general election. Clark was defeated by New Democrat David Eby, by 1,063 votes, in the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey.
B.C.'s New Democrats put forward Carole Gordon, a Kelowna elementary school teacher, as the NDP challenger for the Westside-Kelowna seat. Clark also faces competition from the BC Conservative Party and the B.C. Vision party.
Four candidates are running as independents, including Dayleen Van Ryswyk, who resigned from the B.C. NDP in April after publishing controversial comments on a local media blog.
Advance polls for the Westside-Kelowna byelection will be open from July 3 to 6, and general voting day is July 10.
Westside-Kelowna byelection candidates
- Bhandari (JB), Jag — B.C. Vision
- Clark, Christy — BC Liberal Party
- Gordon, Carole — BC NDP
- Marks, John — Independent
- Socrates, Silverado Brooks — Independent
- Upshaw, Sean — BC Conservative Party
- Van Ryswyk, Dayleen — Independent
- Zepik, Korry — Independent
With files from The Canadian Press