BC Conservatives say they’ll announce a provincial election candidate for the Chilliwack riding in early January.
Kristy Fredericks, the party’s communications director, would not name the candidate Monday, but said he is a “pretty well-known” male in the riding.
Three BC Conservative candidates were announced Monday in Kelowna-Mission, Westside Kelowna and Peace River South.
Fredericks said the party expects to have candidates in all the interior ridings, some of the north and a “good portion” of the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland in the next six to eight weeks.
“Good nominees are coming forward,” she said, and the party expects to have candidates in all 85 ridings except Delta South, which is held by Vicki Huntington, an independent MLA with strong conservative credentials.
The Chilliwack riding has been a hotbed of political activity since long-time BC Liberal MLA John Les announced his decision in August to leave politics.
John Martin, who ran for the BC Conservatives in the Chilliwack-Hope byelection last April to replace BC Liberal MLA Barry Penner, has jumped to the BC Liberals and is now that party’s acclaimed candidate in Chilliwack.
Laurie Throness, the BC Liberal candidate in the April byelection, is again the party’s acclaimed candidate in Chilliwack-Hope.
NDP MLA Gwen O’Mahony currently holds the Chilliwack-Hope riding. She won the byelection followed by Throness and Martin in third place.
Dennis Adamson, Yale area director at the Fraser Valley Regional District, is so far the only announced candidate for the NDP nomination in Chilliwack.
At least two other potential candidates are reportedly eyeing the NDP nomination, now set for Jan. 19.
