Four years as transportation minister have given Todd Stone a higher profile than some B.C. Liberal leadership candidates, which is a mixed blessing.
Stone is the law-and-order family man who hiked fines for distracted driving and passing a stopped school bus. He香蕉视频直播檚 also the former software company CEO who promised to deliver smartphone ride sharing to the clogged streets of big cities. He didn香蕉视频直播檛 deliver on that, or a promised review of what he admitted were unfair Lower Mainland bridge tolls, an issue that cost his party crucial support in Metro Vancouver in the spring election.
The second-term MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson officially becomes the to succeed Christy Clark today (Tuesday) with a road show starting in Surrey, home turf of rival candidate Dianne Watts. From there he goes to Victoria for a technology announcement at llamaZOO, a 3D virtual reality company, and then flies to his home town of Kamloops for a rally.
In an interview with Black Press, Stone listed a notable group of supporters, with a promise of more to come. Sitting MLAs Greg Kyllo (Shuswap), Peter Milobar (Kamloops North Thompson), Coralee Oakes (Cariboo North) and Jane Thornthwaite (North Vancouver-Seymour) are supporting him.
In a contest where party members vote online in early February, Stone adds former MLAs Barry Penner, Don McRae, Terry Lake, Claude Richmond, Kevin Krueger, Doug Horne, Sheila Orr and Susan Brice to his base, as well as Bud Smith, the former Social Credit cabinet minister and leadership candidate who has signed on as his senior advisor.
Stone香蕉视频直播檚 campaign co-chairs are Peter Fassbender, the former education and Translink minister who lost a rematch in Surrey-Fleetwood with the NDP香蕉视频直播檚 Jagrup Brar, and , a former Vision Vancouver board member and 香蕉视频直播渕illennial香蕉视频直播� federal Liberal who spent a year on the B.C. desk in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau香蕉视频直播檚 office.
Stone describes Fassbender as a baby boomer with roots in the federal Conservative Party, a key for the B.C. Liberals as they work to hold their Liberal-Conservative coalition together.
The winner, says the media-savvy Stone, will be the candidate who best articulates a vision for the province, and also has the 香蕉视频直播渋ntangibles香蕉视频直播� to take on the NDP and Green Party and is 香蕉视频直播渞elatable in Williams Lake and Yaletown and every point in between.香蕉视频直播�
He香蕉视频直播檚 diplomatic about his rivals, and not shy about describing what he sees as his advantages.
香蕉视频直播淭he intangibles that I bring to the table are that I香蕉视频直播檒l be the youngest candidate in the race at 45,香蕉视频直播� Stone said. 香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檝e got three kids that are still in the K-12 education system. I香蕉视频直播檓 a tech CEO, and I香蕉视频直播檓 from Kamloops, which is a microcosm of the entire province. It has a lot of the urban challenges of transit and affordable housing, and amongst the highest rates of opioid addiction and deaths from opioids outside of the Lower Mainland.
香蕉视频直播淏ut it香蕉视频直播檚 very much in a rural setting, where the resource economy is still very important. It香蕉视频直播檚 a city that香蕉视频直播檚 working its way through that transition from being solely dependent on resource extraction to the knowledge economy, and Kamloopsians recognize that the two actually go hand in hand.香蕉视频直播�
