History says race is for second place
In most Okanagan ridings, the 2017 provincial election saw the Liberals finish first and the NDP a distant second.
But there was a surprisingly close race in Kelowna-Lake Country.
Not between the Liberals and the NDP, but between the NDP and the Greens for second place.
The NDP hung onto second, barely, with Erik Olesen getting 20.9 per cent of the vote. But Green candidate Alison Shaw, a professor-turned-businesswoman, drew 19.5 per cent.
“We had a great candidate in Alison, but we also saw a record number of volunteers coming forward to help us in Kelowna-Lake Country,” Tom Warshawski, president of the Greens’ Greater Kelowna riding association, said Thursday.
Liberal incumbent Norm Letnick won all 77 of Kelowna-Lake Country’s voting neighbourhoods in 2017 en route to an overwhelming victory with nearly 60 per cent of votes cast.
The Greens came second in 35 neighbourhood voting areas, showing strength across the riding rather than any individual pockets.
And while the NDP finished ahead of the Greens at all five advance polls, the race for second was particularly close among voters who cast early ballots at Dr. Knox Middle School, the Kelowna airport, and the Winfield Memorial Hall.
Only among advance voters in Rutland and those who cast ballots at St. David’s Church in the Glenmore neighbourhood of Kelowna did the NDP finish comfortably ahead of the Greens.
Warshawski said he believes the Green focus on environmental issues might have resonated particularly in Kelowna-Lake Country’s sizable farming areas.
Forty-three per cent of the Lake Country’s land base is within the provincial Agricultural Land Reserve. And three-quarters of the land base has a rural designation.
“I think people who are directly connected to the land might have a better appreciation for, and awareness of, issues like climate change, which of course is something that’s very important for the Green Party,” Warshawski said.
For the Oct. 24 provincial election, the Greens are represented by Jon Janmaat, a UBC Okanagan environmental and resource economics professor and chairman of Kelowna’s agricultural advisory committee.
Asked what the Greens’ aim in KelownaLake Country is for Oct. 24, Warshawski offered both a hopeful and realistic response.
“In politics, we always say we’re in it to win it,” he said. “But Norm is widely respected, even though Liberal policies fall short.
“Our goal for Kelowna-Lake Country is to eclipse the NDP and give Norm a run for his money,” Warshawski added.
“He’s had things a little too comfortable for about a decade now.”
The NDP are running another young candidate this time around, 19-year-old Justin Kulik, who ran federally for the party last year.