NDP deserve to win byelection

Re: Why I’m voting for Shelley Cook in the Kelowna West byelection, Feb. 14.

In this byelection, I’m voting against government for the wealthy few and voting for grassroots government for the majority.

I’m voting against myths and lies and voting for truth.

I’m voting against stale thinking and voting for a fresh new way. Shelley Cook will be getting my vote on Feb. 14. She knows this community and the issues we face, and she has a record of fighting for the young people and disadvantaged citizens of the Okanagan, by addressing social and health issues, to enable them to stand on their own.

She is also well educated and has earned her respect from people in the community who have come to know her.

She is compassionate to the needy and passionate to see just solutions for them, and will work for what we need in the Central Okanagan.

Already, the NDP have made improvements to Westside Road and to surgical and heart health care at KGH, and are pursuing access to broadband internet for rural areas.

The NDP, under John Horgan, have earned my respect. They have:

• cut healthcare premiums in half

• put money back into supporting our children’s education

• reinstated the BC Human Rights Commission to protect our rights as citizens

• banned big money from politics,

• created 3,800 daycare spaces,

• committed to providing $10/day childcare (which will free up hundreds of dollars for families to support themselves).

Significantly, they have committed to holding a referendum on proportional representation, to give all of us a greater say in how government is formed.

If all this wasn’t enough, NDP governments have the best record for balanced budgets in Canada.

(See behindthenumbers.ca/2011/04/29/fiscalrecord-of-canadian-political-parties-2/)

Ken Cooper, West Kelowna