Esquimalt mayor seeks B.C. Liberal nomination for 2017 election
Barb Desjardins has been mayor for almost eight years, also serves as CRD chair
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Dejardins is hoping to make the leap to provincial politics.
Desjardins is seeking the B.C. Liberal nomination in the riding of Esquimalt-Metchosin for the May provincial election.
She has been mayor for nearly eight years.
"I'm running because I believe when you truly love a place or person, you do everything you can for them," she told All Points West host Robyn Burns. "I've done that for my community as mayor, and I now hope to build on that as an MLA."
Desjardins says she has been in discussions to run for the Liberals for several years. She says her past as a small business owner informed her decision to seek the Liberal nomination and she supports the party on economic and social issues.
"I'm not hearing what, if anything, is coming out of the NDP at this point," she said.
Desjardins was in the news late in 2016 when her city's council agreed to a sewage treatment plant for the Capital Regional District, ending a decades-long dispute in the area. However, Desjardins fought against the plant in 2014.
Desjardins still needs to win her party's nomination before becoming its candidate. She says she will continue in her roles as mayor and CRD chair, at least until the writ drops.
The NDP candidate is Mitzi Dean, executive director of Pacific Centre Family Services Association, a non-profit that provides counselling on issues like substance use among youth, violence against women, family violence in addition to daycare services.
The Green Party has not yet named a candidate.
Esquimalt-Metchosin is a new riding with slightly different boundaries than the previous riding of Esquimalt-Royal Roads, adding Metchosin while losing Victoria West.
The area has seen strong support for the NDP in recent elections. The NDP's Maurine Karagianis represents Esquimalt-Royal Roads at present but is not seeking re-election.
The provincial election is May 9, 2017.
With files from CBC Radio One's All Points West
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