Federal NDP leadership candidate Nathan Cullen hosts an evening of dialogue on cross-partisan co-operation Wednesday in Courtenay.The event will take place at the Lower Native Sons Hall on March 14 at 7:30 p.m. This event is open to  all NDP members and the public.Cullen is the four-term MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, and the only B.C. candidate in the race to succeed Jack Layton as leader of the Official Opposition.NDP MP Fin Donnelly, Fisheries and Ocean Critic, said he supports Cullen because of his strong stance on important issues.Local Comox Valley social activist Norm Reynolds is supporting Nathan because he believes that Nathan’s proven abilities as a team builder and spokesperson for a just, representative, sustaining and sustainable Canada make him the most fitting candidate to carry on Layton’s leadership.Local supporter Kathryn Askew said she is supporting Nathan because most of all she wants to elect a dynamic and charismatic person to lead the government of her country.The event comes just days after NDP members begin receiving their ballots in the mail. Cullen says he looks forward to connecting with NDP members one more time before ballots are cast. Cullen believes the support of communities such as Vancouver Island North will be crucial to his success in the party’s leadership race, which concludes March 24 in Toronto.— NDP

Comox Valley Record