British Columbia’s political landscape is feeling a lot like a mix between a chess game and the reality TV show Survivor as the B.C. Conservatives send word to the candidates they want on their team for the provincial election in October — and those they’re dropping.
Campaign director Angelo Isidorou spent the weekend calling some of the party’s candidates with news they’d have to step aside for a B.C. United candidate, a process he called “gut wrenching.”
It follows the decision last week by B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon to withdraw the party from the election campaign and encourage candidates to run for John Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives.
Rustad has since dropped Rachael Weber, the former B.C. Conservatives candidate for Prince George–Mackenzie. She had been the subject of attacks from rival parties, including B.C. United, due to the content of some of her previous social media posts, which included statements that 5G cell towers were genocidal weapons.
Isidorou said Kiel Giddens, the B.C. United candidate and former president of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, will take her place.
Ian Paton, B.C. United MLA for Delta South since 2017, will run for the B.C. Conservatives in that riding, Isidorou confirmed.
Another B.C. United MLA, Trevor Halford, will run under the B.C. Conservatives banner in his existing riding of Surrey–White Rock, with the Conservatives moving candidate Bryan Tepper to Surrey–Panorama.
B.C. Conservative campaign director Angelo Isidorou said he spent the weekend calling some of the party’s candidates with news they’d have to step aside for B.C. United candidates. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
That meant dropping B.C. Conservatives candidate Dupinder Saran in Surrey–Panorama, a decision she slammed on social media.
“As a candidate in Surrey–Panorama, I witnessed a Conservative candidate in White Rock being bullied into leaving their riding and to choose either the Fleetwood or Panorama riding. I could no longer watch this drama unfold and did the right thing by moving [aside] to make room for the White Rock candidate,” said Saran.
Saran said she will now run as an independent in Surrey–Panorama.
“The provincial Conservative Party is now a Liberal Party running under the Conservative banner,” she added.
In Columbia River–Revelstoke, the B.C. Conservatives have dropped candidate A.J. Wolfe in favour of B.C. United candidate Scott McInnis, a teacher and principal who lives in Kimberley.
The B.C. Conservatives offered a spot on their team to Tom Shypitka — the B.C. United MLA for Kootenay East, which has been renamed Kootenay–Rockies — but Isidorou said Shypitka wasn’t willing to move riding and the party wanted to keep Revelstoke businessman Pete Davis in Kootenay–Rockies.
As a result, Shypitka is likely to run as an independent, Isidorou said. CBC News has contacted Shypitka for comment.
Three other veteran B.C. United MLAs — Shirley Bond (Prince George–Valemount), Todd Stone (Kamloops–South Thompson) and Jackie Tegart (Fraser–Nicola) — have announced they’re not running again.
During an unrelated news conference in Victoria, B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau slammed the B.C. Conservatives for flouting the process of selecting candidates through nomination meetings.
“They’re moving candidates around like pawns on a chess board,” said Furstenau.