By Richard McGuire
MLA Linda Larson
Linda Larson opened her fourth campaign office Saturday in Osoyoos as the incumbent MLA prepares for her second provincial election as the B.C. Liberal candidate.
This follows the opening of offices late last year in Princeton and Oliver and one on Friday in Grand Forks.
The Osoyoos opening came one day before her main opponents, the NDP, even had a candidate nominated in Boundary-Similkameen.
Pointing to a map on the wall of her new office, just west of Shoppers Drug Mart, she motioned to her newly redrawn electoral district that stretches from E.C. Manning Provincial Park in the west, to beyond Christina Lake in the east, and to points at the same latitude as Kelowna in the north.
“Just take a look at the map,” she said when asked about her decision to open four campaign offices. “Every single corner of this area is equally as important to me. In order to demonstrate that and to give volunteers a warm place to go and for people to meet, that’s why we’ve done that.”
The dropping of the writ to call the May 9 election is still several months away, but Larson said this allowed her campaign to secure the storefront offices. They won’t be manned regularly until the writ.
But they will be used to store materials and signage and once the election is called, they’ll be used for volunteers to have a cup of coffee or do phoning, she said.
Unlike the 2013 election when Larson was nominated in January that year after then MLA John Slater was dismissed by his party, Larson has had much longer to prepare. She also enjoys the advantage of incumbency.
“It’s an advantage for me certainly from the perspective that I’ve had four years to get to know the area,” she said. “I have the time to get a little better organized than last time for sure.”
As Osoyoos residents dropped by Saturday to extend greetings, Larson introduced them to some of her team members including Campaign Manager Everett Baker, who’s been her riding association president for three years. Baker owns the funeral home in Grand Forks.
“I think the economy of British Columbia is at stake in this election,” said Larson. “I think the fact that we have the strongest economy in the country, and even though it has a little bit of ups and downs sometimes, it’s the current government that made that happen. That’s what’s at stake.”
B.C. Liberals, she said, offer a stable economy, low taxes and jobs.
Asked what she saw as the main local issues she’ll be fighting for, Larson said local voters want what other British Columbians want.
“They care about their health care, they care about education, they care about the environment, about water, clean air and highways,” she said. “All of those things, exactly the same as everyone else in the province does.”
She noted that Boundary-Similkameen has less than one per cent of the population of B.C., and as one of 85 MLAs, 48 from the B.C. Liberals, she represents a small percentage of the vote in Victoria.
“You’ve got to put it in perspective,” she said. “It’s not like this population (in Boundary-Similkameen) is going to dictate to the rest of the province.”
In Oliver, Larson’s campaign office is located at 6369 Main Street. Phone: 250-498-5122.
