Brenda Dorosz says she is not your typical would-be politician, but will make her voice known in Victoria. (Richard McGuire photo)
If Brenda Dorosz can save a high school from closure and physically subdue a thief, she can get policymakers to listen in the BC legislature.
That’s what some of her supporters are thinking as she embarks on her goal to get nominated by the NDP to challenge the BC Liberals in the next election.
Dorosz, from Osoyoos, is up against nominee Colleen Ross from Grand Forks. Both want the MLA job for Boundary-Similkameen, but Dorosz said she wants to be a younger voice for people who don’t have a voice in Victoria.
“In rural BC we don’t get attention . . . a lot of people don’t know who we are. If I’m elected, they will know who we are.”
Dorosz led the fight to save Osoyoos Secondary School from closure after it was targeted by School District 53 due to budget constraints. And it was this issue that prompted people to ask her to continue her tenacity in Victoria.
“I learned that ordinary people can make a difference,” she said.
Dorosz has family roots throughout the Boundary-Similkameen; her grandparents owned farms in Oliver since the early 1960s.
She has held various executive positions, including the irrigation board, Communities for Kids and the Crystal Meth Task Force.
Dorosz spent many years in retail, and used her degree in child daycare management to own and operate her own business.
For the past 10 years she has worked in the vineyard/winery industry. She now feels compelled to bring change to the local political scene.
“I want to help all people in our region have a better life,” Dorosz said. “I will listen, and that is my promise.”
Dorosz said she doesn’t want to be a typical politician who sits back and lets everything happen. “I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty and do whatever it takes to get the job done.”
For example, she literally “clotheslined” a thief who was trying to steal her husband’s truck in May.
Some of the key issues she wants to focus on include a lack of elder care, affordable housing, education funding and mental health.
She said the mental health of children is not being addressed, and many seniors who need care are falling through the cracks.
Dorosz said there is a need for a task force to establish strategies for affordable housing in this region. She also noted the NDP is looking at ways to cut tuition costs to post-secondary education.
The other issue that Dorosz wants to address is the national park reserve, which she supports 100 per cent. She would like to sit down with the “no” camp and discuss their concerns.
