NDP set sights on seats in Maple Ridge
Close ridings could be key to deciding May 9 election
Maple Ridge cobblers may soon be busy as candidates pound the pavement in its two closely-contested ridings.
To win a 45-seat majority in the legislature, the B.C. NDP will have to swing at least 10 ridings by May 9 and there’s no doubt Maple RidgePitt Meadows will play a key role.
In 2013, B.C. Liberal Doug Bing beat the NDP’s Elizabeth Rosenau by just 620 votes. This time, NDP candidate Lisa Beare, a schoolboard trustee, thinks she’ll close that gap.
“It’s going to be hard work,” said Beare, who has been knocking on doors each night while raising a toddler.
Beare said young families are telling her they’re falling behind financially, so she pitches them the NDP’s plans to eliminate bridge tolls and MSP premiums, and implement $10-a-day child care.
She said her party will tackle Maple Ridge’s homelessness crisis, and said the NDP has the Liberals beat with its pledge to scrap tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges. The Liberals have promised to cap tolls at $500 annually.
The NDP says it will cover the costs by draining the Liberals’ $500-million liquefied natural gas “prosperity fund.”
But her rival doesn’t buy that math. Bing said constituents are pleased with a toll cap.
“It makes sense for the users to pay it. People get that,” he said.
Bing’s been knocking on doors, too, and believes his public profile will be important in protecting his seat.
He has listened to constituents’ concerns about traffic and collisions and worked with the Ministry of Transportation to improve intersections and crossings, he said.
After many meetings with residents concerned about the implementation of supportive housing and shelters, he and fellow Liberal candidate Marc Dalton helped block two city-approved sites following community backlash.
They then helped establish an intensive case-management team along with shelter spaces and affordable-housing funding.
East of 224th Street, in Maple Ridge-Mission, Dalton seeks a third term after defeating the NDP’s Mike Bocking by 1,497 votes in 2013.
NDP candidate Bob D’Eith, who works in the music industry and shares an office with Beare, is confident they’ll both find seats in the legislature.
“I think both of these ridings are winnable,” D’Eith said. “I’m hearing it on the door. People are ready for a change.”
D’Eith said the issue of bridge tolls is “an unfair tax on working people” and is brought up often. Residents want to see support for the homeless and more investment in health care, which the NDP’s platform will address, he said.
With the election, concerns around affordability and public services are being highlighted, particularly from parents who still feel stung by the Liberals’ drawnout legal battle with teachers in 2014, D’Eith said.
Dalton said he burned through the soles of a new pair of shoes during his 2013 campaign. The work he’s done over the past eight years form the base of his campaign.
But he’s been more focused on door-knocking than ever, not taking his past wins for granted, he added.
He’s meeting with advocates, attending events and reminding constituents of projects completed such as new schools and an MRI machine installed at the hospital.
Dalton said constituents say they’re “feeling pretty good about where we’re at as a province,” but they’re worried the NDP’s promises are jeopardizing stability, he said.
“There’s a nervousness.” Also running in Maple RidgePitt Meadows are Alex Pope for the Green party and independent Steve Ranta. In Maple Ridge-Mission, Peter Pak Chiu Tam is running for the Greens.
I think both of these ridings are winnable. I’m hearing it on the door. People are ready for a change.