Trasolini launches NDP campaign bid
The byelection has still not been called, but Joe Trasolini, the NDP’S big-name candidate in Port MoodyCoquitlam, isn’t wasting any time making himself comfortable in the unrepresented riding.
At his constituency office on Thursday, Trasolini, Port Moody’s former four-term mayor, officially launched his election campaign with a pitch to host weekly open-door sessions for the public.
The idea, he said, is a simple one: Give the riding’s residents, who’ve been cut off from Victoria ever since former-liberal MLA Iain Black quit for a post at the Vancouver Board of Trade, a voice.
“We don’t have an MLA in this riding,” Trasolini said, flanked by opposition leader Adrian Dix. “We are not being represented. So what am I going to do about it? I intend to do this: I’m going to have an open office. And when [people bring me their problems], I will pass them on to my neighbouring NDP MLAS in the area. And I’m sure they will be looked after.”
It’s a public policy Trasolini said served him well as Port Moody’s mayor for 12 years, and one that was undoubtedly behind his considerable popularity.
It’s also one that should be of considerable concern for the Liberals, who have yet to acclaim their candidate in Premier Christy Clark’s old riding. The election has to be called by April 2.
Dennis Marsden, a longtime TriCities resident, who lost to the NDP’S Dian Thorne in the 2009 B.C. election in the Coquitlam-maillardville riding, is the only Liberal to declare his intention to seek the nomination.
Trasolini, meantime, in addition to the planned open-office sessions, has already been out in the community, talking and listening to constituents.
He said his campaign will highlight the issues he’s heard on the doorsteps and inside the coffee shops throughout the riding — namely transit, the high cost of living, the squeeze on small business and education. colivier@theprovince.com twitter.com/cassidyolivier