Fresh off his federal election campaign, Nicholas Simons is now throwing his hat into the provincial political ring.
Simons has joined the race to seek the provincial NDP nomination for the riding of Powell River - Sunshine Coast.
"This is the best way I can help the NDP defeat the Liberals next year," Simons said. "I am encouraged by the support people have shown me, and I would be pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to public policy in an instrumental way."
Simons joins four other candidates who are vying to run for the NDP in the riding. The other candidates include Norm Gleadow, president of the Sunshine Coast Teachers' Association, Judith Wilson, a Gibsons lawyer and long-time NDP activist, Kathy Northrup, a social worker involved in community development, and Sam Heppell, a University of British Columbia student.
No date has been set for the NDP nomination meeting yet, although it is expected to be called for sometime in October.
Simons finished third in the recent federal election, picking up 13,158 votes (22 per cent) and finishing behind Liberal candidate Blair Wilson and incumbent Conservative MP John Reynolds.
Simons has a master's degree in criminology and is currently working with various First Nations child welfare agencies as a consultant providing instruction and advice on child protection issues and program development. He is a former child protection social worker and former director of health and social services for the Sechelt Indian Band and is currently the acting director of the Band's department of child and family services.
Simons is also an accomplished musician and the editor of the satirical Lower Langdale Tattler.
"I have a lot of admiration for Carole James; she has integrity and compassion, and I would like to play an important role in the resurgence of our party and the defeat of the Liberals," Simons said.
"Campbell's cuts were unnecessarily harsh, badly planned out and desperate, as if they knew that this would be their only chance. I have seen the effects of those cuts, which have had a direct impact on people on a very personal level. I have had to try to explain to parents why their children can't get any extra help in over-crowded classrooms, why seniors have had to leave their families for a long-term care bed off the Coast and why young people can't get help with their addictions."
