With rumours that provincial voters could be headed to the polls next month, potential candidates are already jockeying for position in the Nechako Lakes riding which takes in the area around Fort St. James, south to Vanderhoof and west to the Houston area.
Anne Marie Sam, who ran in the 2017 provincial election for the New Democratic Party, announced her candidacy for the party’s nomination Sept. 17.
Sam was defeated by John Rustad, the current BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly for the riding.
She has now taken leave from her post as a senior ministerial assistant in the provincial indigenous relations and reconciliation ministry.
“I want to join John Horgan’s team to develop solutions to the challenges people are facing and deliver support for our resource dependent communities,” she said in a press release.
From the Fort St. James area, Sam has been a school trustee and has served as a councillor for the Nak’azdii Band Council.
Sam received 19.81 per cent of the votes in the 2017 provincial election with Rustad taking the seat by a clear majority of 54.39 per cent of the vote. Green candidate Douglas Gook collected 9 per cent of the vote, Libertarian Jon Rempel 4.49 per cent of the vote and Independent Al Trampuh received 2.31 per cent of the vote.
