It looks as though Powell River-Sunshine Coast will be at least a four-way race in the coming provincial election.
Reuben Richards of Powell River will carry the Cascadia Party banner in the campaign, facing incumbent Nicholas Simons of the NDP, the Liberal’s Mathew Wilson and Green Kim Darwin.
Richards, 44, a life-long resident of the riding with a wife and three teenagers, told Coast Reporter this week that he’s working with the party’s head office to finalize his paperwork for Elections BC and line up an auditor and other campaign staff.
His bio on the party website says, “Reuben believes in resource management, building an economy that keeps more jobs in B.C. and makes the most of our resource wealth.”
Richards said that focus comes from his experience working in forestry and for the BC Forest Service.
“I worked as a log scaler, and I see how many logs are being exported. There are also a lot of other issues here with ferries and health care and things like that, but one of the most important things is resource management,” Richards said.
“It’s pretty bad when we’re the richest province in Canada, maybe the world, when it comes to natural resources and we’re just shipping it all out raw, and with that we’re giving away jobs,” he added. “I’ve lived here all my life and Powell River’s gone from being one of the most prosperous communities around to having high poverty rates.”
Richards said he’s been interested in politics for a long time, and got involved in speaking publicly on issues during his time as a shop steward with the steelworkers union. “I feel strongly about my community, and if there’s something I can do to make a difference, [I will]” he said.
He said he was attracted to the Cascadia Party because the traditional parties have made a lot of promises, but failed to follow through.
“It’s a middle of the road party, it’s not leaning either way. It’s common sense, down-to-earth values, like bio-regionalism and having more control over our resources rather than Ottawa,” Richards said. “I was in the steelworkers union for 20 years and they supported the NDP – always. I grew up with an NDP background, and I was an NDP guy, but in the last federal election I didn’t like they way they handled [the campaign]. It’s time for something different.”
While Richards is getting his campaign off the ground, he’s encouraging voters to check out the party platform at www.bccascadiaparty.org or contact him at [email protected].
The writ kicking off the official campaign will be issued April 11, and candidates can enter the race up to 1 p.m. on April 18. As of March 21, only two of the declared candidates for Powell River-Sunshine Coast, Simons and Darwin, had filed their papers with Elections BC.
