Which one will replace Colin Mayes?

FridayAm April 5

Liberal candidate: Buffy Baumbrough
NDP candidate: Alice Brown

or

Green Party selects candidate
By RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff Mar 28 2007

Huguette Beaudin-Allen isn’t wasting any time when it comes to spreading the Green message.

Beaudin-Allen was selected Green Party candidate for Okanagan-Shuswap over Aaron Vallejo Monday, and she is already making plans for the next federal election.

“We need a campaign manager, fundraising and a volunteer co-ordinator,” said the Lumby computer analyst and business consultant.

“We will also draft a campaign plan so once the election is called, we will know what we are doing.”

Beaudin-Allen is confident a strategy can be put together quickly because the Green Party now has an official riding association in Okanagan-Shuswap.

For Beaudin-Allen, a critical issue will be to get residents across the riding familiar with both her and the party.

“We need to get the message out there,” she said.

Among them is correcting the common view that the Green Party is only interested in the environment and is not interested in issues such as the economy and social programs.

But Beaudin-Allen says the party has extensive policies on a variety of issues, including co-existence between the environment and the economy.

“The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment,” she said.

“If people think if they vote for the Greens they are voting for no more forestry, they won’t vote for it. But the Greens can increase both jobs and the quality of life.”

Beaudin-Allen is optimistic about the party’s chances in the next election, especially based on attendance at the nomination meeting.

“There were a lot of young people present. They were very interested and asking questions,” she said.

“A lot of young people feel like there’s no party out there for them and they want a change. They need to be aware of what the Greens can do for them. I want them to be part of the team.”