Greens pick engineer for Kelowna West byelection
Greens now have in the legislature, to raise those issues and provide my voice to the conversation and support the local community,” said Stupka.
Stupka said one of the biggest issues he will be focusing on for the Kelowna West riding is supporting growth in the region in a way that reflects the 21stcentury needs of the community, including community planning, infrastructure and transportation.
“While the Liberals were touting to be stewards of the economy, now what we’re seeing is that in fact it wasn’t really great management of the economy to begin with,” he said.
“What we lost was a balance in terms of social and environmental action at the expense of the economy.”
Although Stupka has never personally entered a political race before, he was involved in this year’s provincial election, working on Kelowna-Lake Country Green candidate Alison Shaw’s campaign.
“We had a very successful campaign, doubling the votes for the Greens in the area,” he said.
Across the province, three Green MLAs were elected in the last election: leader Andrew Weaver, Saanich North and the Islands MLA Adam Olsen and Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau.
In Kelowna West, Liberal leader Clark won 59 per cent of the vote, followed by Cook with 25.1 per cent and Green candidate Robert Mellalieu with 13.7 per cent.
Despite those results, Stupka remains confident in his campaign. “I’m in it to win it,” he said. Following the spring election, the Greens agreed to support the NDP in the legislature, but Stupka emphasized the Greens have their own voice in the legislature.
“I think we saw in the last election that B.C. Greens inspired voters from the left and the right, and while there are a lot of policy initiatives we agreed with the NDP on, there are policies we agreed with the B.C. Liberals,” said Stupka.
“For voters in West Kelowna, a vote for the Greens means they will have a real voice at the table. I’m very proud of what the Greens have been able to accomplish already in the legislature.”
Weaver praised Stupka in a news release, calling him an “exceptional candidate.”
“He is keen to share his passion for building the economy of the 21st century and strong evidence-based policy for British Columbia,” said Weaver.
“As a professional engineer, he is keenly aware of how new technologies and a creative and innovative approach to policy development can turn the most daunting challenges into our greatest opportunities.”