Byelection lessons

BC Liberal candidate Tony Harris put up a good showing Wednesday in a riding that has been an NDP stronghold for some 50 years. In the end, the NDP’s Sheila Malcolmson held on to the Nanaimo seat in a rare byelection that mattered, and perhaps saved John Horgan’s NDP government, but there’s a lesson the provincial Liberals should take from their close call.

Harris, a respected businessman with long-time ties to his community, offered voters on the centre and the right a fresh new face and a clean break from the Liberals’ too-long tenure in government.

If British Columbians were to go to the polls right now in a provincial election, the party would be offering voters the same old people we’ve seen for well over a decade in many ridings — the same tired crew voters sent to the penalty box in the 2017 election.

While the Liberals’ loss in 2017 shouldn’t be exaggerated and the party would certainly be competitive if an election were held today, a slate dominated by well-worn candidates from the past two or three governments lacks appeal.

In fact, it would be disappointing Every so often, voters want change. The BC Liberals don’t offer that right now. They’re offering to take us back to the past.

They’re offering voters the same people who failed to provide proper oversight at the B.C. Legislature, who were blind to money laundering in B.C. casinos and let ICBC become a financial disaster.

While the NDP doesn’t have a reputation for competent fiscal management, in fact, that’s what this government is doing right now — better than the last few years of Liberal rule.

Finance Minister Carole James will probably deliver another balanced budget with some goodies for British Columbians next month. That’s refreshing considering the Liberals could rarely manage both in their budgets.

And while the speculation tax is controversial, especially in Kelowna and West Kelowna, it might be a mistake to confuse opposition to the tax locally for incompetent or unpopular government. In fact, the government did a lot of polling that showed a majority of British Columbians support the tax.

And while the negative billing to opt out of the tax seems clumsy, filling out the forms is pretty easy. In other words, the Liberals need more than opposition to the speculation tax to win back voters.

They’ll need exciting new candidates with strong backgrounds in their communities and the business world and some new ideas.

Remember when they brought in Wally Oppal and Carole Taylor? Those were high-profile, moderate new faces who helped the party win another term.

But now, all the Liberals have to offer is the Gordon Campbell-Christy Clark supporting cast with one of them as the new leader. It’s a tired look.

— Pat Bulmer, Kelowna Daily Courier