Liberals also ignore local democracy

It sucks being Ron Hovanes. The former Oliver mayor and long-time BC Liberal supporter appeared keenly interested in seeking the party nomination in BoundarySimilkameen only to discover that Petra Veintimilla was appointed as the candidate.

Although Hovanes didn’t make a formal announcement, it was the worst-kept secret in Oliver. He even answered a question truthfully at an all-candidates forum in 2018 which, in part, may have cost him re-election.

But not long after the ink dried on last Friday’s editorial about the unfair selection by the NDP in Penticton, the BC Liberals joined the we-know-best club.

This is not a knock against Veintimilla, but the people at party headquarters who seem to think only they are capable of selecting a suitable candidate for Boundary-Similkameen.

In fact, the last time party members were allowed to choose their candidate in BS was 2009 — Joe Cardoso — only to have the oldboys network take it away from him and call a new nomination meeting.

We understand that political parties need to be selective. With nomination meetings, the name of the game is to register as many new members as possible, while securing the support of existing members.

The last thing parties want is a nutjob. A special interest group can also hijack a nomination for no other purpose than to push its own agenda.

In the case of the NDP, its members were allowed to vote in Penticton in 2017 and chose

Tarik Sayeed, who was unwinnable.

The excuse Liberals will use in Boundary-Similkameen is they weren’t anticipating an snap election. They can also use COVID as an excuse.

We don’t buy it.

Incumbent Linda Larson announced her intentions to step down more than a year ago. They’ve had a lot of time to figure this one out.

If the BC Liberals can’t organize a nomination meeting in Oliver/Osoyoos, how on earth can they manage the government?

Local democracy be damned.