Who's in and who's out as a candidate for the B.C. Conservatives
Katie DeRosa | CBC News | Posted: September 3, 2024 7:16 PM | Last Updated: September 3
Party's list of candidates slowly taking shape after B.C. United's withdrawal from election race last week
British Columbia's political landscape is feeling a lot like a mix between a chess game and the reality TV show Survivor as the B.C. Conservatives send word to the candidates they want on their team for the provincial election in October — and those they're dropping.
Campaign director Angelo Isidorou spent the weekend calling some of the party's candidates with news they'd have to step aside for a B.C. United candidate, a process he called "gut-wrenching."
It follows the decision last week by B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon to withdraw the party from the election campaign and encourage candidates to run for John Rustad's B.C. Conservatives.
Rustad has since dropped Rachael Weber, the former B.C. Conservative candidate for Prince George–Mackenzie. She had been the subject of attacks from rival parties, including B.C. United, due to the content of some of her previous social media posts, which included statements that 5G cell towers were genocidal weapons.
Isidorou said Kiel Giddens, the B.C. United candidate and former president of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, will take her place.
WATCH | Conservatives form roster of candidates after B.C. United drop out:
Milobar, Paton, Halford join Conservatives
A trio of sitting B.C. United MLAs announced Tuesday they would flip for the Conservatives: Peter Milobar will run in Kamloops-Centre, Ian Paton in Delta South and Trevor Halford in Surrey–White Rock.
WATCH | Ian Paton addresses his previous criticism of B.C. Conservatives:
Conservatives candidate Bryan Tepper has now been moved from Surrey-White Rock to Surrey-Panorama, displacing previously nominated Surrey-Panorama candidate Dupinder Saran, who slammed the decision on social media.
"As a candidate in Surrey-Panorama, I witnessed a Conservative candidate in White Rock being bullied into leaving their riding and to choose either the Fleetwood or Panorama riding. I could no longer watch this drama unfold and did the right thing by moving [aside] to make room for the White Rock candidate," said Saran.
Saran said she will now run as an Independent in Surrey-Panorama.
"The provincial Conservative Party is now a Liberal Party running under the Conservative banner," she added.
Isidorou said his party is widening the tent to help beat the NDP.
"It's not ideal, and it's very easy to say they've sold out and become the B.C. Liberals," he said. "But at the end of the day, we have our platform. We have our policies. We have our leader."
The B.C. Conservatives offered a spot on their team to Tom Shypitka the B.C. United MLA for Kootenay East, which has been renamed Kootenay-Rockies. But Isidorou said Shypitka wasn't willing to move ridings, and the party wanted to keep Revelstoke businessman Pete Davis in Kootenay-Rockies.
Shypitka is considering running as an Independent.
"I think I have a better case for staying in Kootenay-Rockies than Pete Davis," said Shypitka. "Not only do I live here, but I've worked here for a decade."
B.C. United MLA Mike Bernier (Peace River South) is also considering running as an Independent.
On Sunday, he posted to Facebook that Falcon had "backstabbed all of us and actually just made it easier for the NDP to win."
'Pawns on a chess board'
During an unrelated news conference in Victoria, B.C., Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau slammed the B.C. Conservatives for flouting the process of selecting candidates through nomination meetings.
"They're moving candidates around like pawns on a chess board," said Furstenau.
Three veteran B.C. United MLAs — Shirley Bond (Prince George-Valemount), Todd Stone (Kamloops-South Thompson) and Jackie Tegart (Fraser-Nicola) — have announced they're not running again.
"When I heard the announcement last Wednesday, to say I was surprised is an understatement," said Tegart in an interview with CBC. "It was certainly not what I thought would come out of any negotiations in uniting the right."
In Columbia River-Revelstoke, the B.C. Conservatives have dropped candidate A.J. Wolfe in favour of B.C. United candidate Scott McInnis, a teacher and principal who lives in Kimberley.
Former B.C. United candidate in Burnaby North, Michael Wu, will now represent the Conservatives there, with the party's former nominee, Simon Chandler, moving to Burnaby East.
Dale Parker, a former B.C. United candidate in Nanaimo-Gabriola, announced Tuesday he will now run for the Conservatives in his riding, as did Keenan Adams in Port Coquitlam.