Nelson-Creston Greens excited to have Andrew Weaver visit riding
By Nelson Daily Staff
Green Party supporters have another chance to meet leader Andrew Weaver when the Victoria-based MLA pays a visit to the Nelson-Creston riding this week.
The B.C. Green Party will tour Nelson-Creston riding with candidate, Kim Charlesworth, on Tuesday (March 28) and Wednesday (March 29).
“Andrew will be here to listen and learn about Nelson-Creston,” Charlesworth said. “We are excited to share with him the unique qualities of our riding and explore where we feel advocacy in the legislature can benefit our often ignored communities.”
Weaver was originally scheduled to tour the riding in February, but was grounded before ever leaving Victoria after the largest snowfall in years hit the Kootenays.
“(Andrew) didn’t even get out of Victoria,” Charlesworth lamented at the time.
The winter storm grounded flights out of Cranbrook, Weaver’s destination to get to the Kootenays. Weaver would then drive to Nelson to attend the event.
However, the tour has been rescheduled and constituents will now have a chance to meet the Green Party leader face to face.
“I watched, Andrew Weaver speak at a Green Rally in Victoria, recently (and) I was so impressed by his honesty and integrity,” said Volunteer Events Coordinator, Julia Roberts.
“He is focused on solving problems for the people of BC rather than playing politics. I hope the people of Nelson-Creston will come out to hear him and consider a different future for our riding and our province.”
Weaver, who is born and raised in Victoria, is the first Green Party MLA in the BC Legislature having been elected in 2013 for Oak Bay-Gordon Head in Victoria.
A Lansdowne Professor in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Weaver spent the past 25 years working at the University of Victoria and is a big supporter of the development of the clean technology industry.
Weaver, head of the BC Green Party since 2015, has been a strong critic of the Liberal government’s liquefied natural gas strategy.
Weaver’s tour begins Tuesday in Creston at 12:30 p.m. before moving to Nelson for a Town Hall at the Prestige Inn Lakeside Resort.
The tour continues Wednesday with a meeting hosted by Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce at 9 a.m. followed by a media conference at 10 a.m. Weaver will then tour the Kootenay Co-op story at 777 Baker Street.
The Greens are hoping this will be the time to dethrone current NDP MLA Michelle Mungall.
Charlesworth, Mungall, BC Liberal candidate Tanya Wall of Creston and Independent candidate Tom Prior are all vying for the seat in Nelson-Creston.
Weaver recently helped the B.C. Green Party recently release its platform plank on the new economy, entitled “Strategy for the New Economy: Innovation and Sustainable Enterprise” in Vancouver.
The full platform is based on three pillars: economic security; sustainability and intergenerational equity; and responsible government.
“Government has one job that is more important than anything else: to support all British Columbians in living healthy and prosperous lives,” said Weaver during the announcement.
“That starts with a healthy economy. The most important factor in an individual’s health and wellbeing is their income. Furthermore, when people feel secure, they can feel comfortable pursuing their innovative ideas and dreams.”
Mungall won the Nelson/Creston riding in 2013 by whopping 50.68 percent of the popular vote — 7576 for Mungall compared to 4348 for Liberal candidate Greg Garbula and 3133 for Sjeng Derkx of the Green Party.
Voters go to the polls May 9.
