They have knocked on thousands of doors, fielded hundreds of questions at all-candidates meetings and lobbed questions of their own during radio debates.
Now it's down to the wire for the three candidates vying for a seat vacated by BC Liberal MLA Iain Black in October.Tomorrow, (Thursday), voters in Port Moody-Coquitlam will head to the polls to cast their ballot for someone to replace Black for the year remaining of this government before the next general election slated for May 14, 2013.
During the campaign which seemed to flag as the weather got nicer and the Canucks' play-offs began, candidates defined their personalities and established their credentials through campaign literature, websites and debates. All three party leaders visited the riding during the election, including BC Conservative leader John Cummins, Premier Christy Clark and NDP leader Adrian Dix. Some provincial funding also came this way, including $681,332 to expand a lacrosse box and other facilities in Port Moody and $104,848 for an outdoor fitness and recreation park in Anmore.
While the poll results (available Thursday night at www.tricitynews.com), won't change the balance of the seats in the legislature, they could signal change is in the wind for the governing BC Liberals or establish a beachhead for the fledgling BC Conservative Party.
Either way, the stakes are high, and the candidates aren't pulling any punches.
At a recent all candidates meeting, BC Conservative candidate Christine Clarke zeroed in on the differences between the three parties. The governing BC Liberals and NDP, she said, are "addicted to spending" and she argued her party, led by John Cummins, would offer an alternative, a "strong new voice" for B.C. where residents would "feel good about the taxes we pay."
CHALLENGED
BC Liberal Dennis Marsden, meanwhile, challenged former Port Moody mayor Joe Trasolini's leadership abilities, singling out his track record in his dealings with Anmore and Belcarra - particularly, how village residents are charged extra for programs at the PoMo rec centre and to access drinking water - and for not gaining federal grants to build a new Murray-Clarke Connector to ease traffic gridlock. Marsden, said he has knocked on 10,000 doors during the campaign and promised to be open and communicative with voters after he's elected.
Meanwhile, Trasolini, widely touted as the man to beat in the election, criticized the BC Liberals' stance on the failed HST, the proposed selling of corporate assets to balance the provincial budget and Bill 22, the legislation passed last month to end the teachers' job action that Trasolini described as "an impediment to meaningful dialogue."
Trasolini called himself a "known quantity" who is "approachable, accountable and strongly believes in public consultation."
These same themes of trustworthiness, openness and fiscal accountability played out in interviews with the candidates published in the Tri-City News earlier in the campaign.
"I'd say we're the common-sense choice," Clarke said of the BC Conservatives, in her interview where she talked about her party's belief in leaner government. She said her party would review all spending to see where cuts could be made.
The Liberals, meanwhile, are counting on their balanced budget next year to win votes. "We are the only party that is coming out and saying, 'Here's what it is and this is how to pay for it," Marsden stated in his interview, noting that his party's Jobs Plan and port and infrastructure spending could create spin-off jobs locally.
Trasolini argued that a strong economy can co-exist with a healthy environment, and promised his party would have a fully-costed out platform in time for the next election. Among the issues he said his party is promoting is the return of grants for post-secondary students paid for with a minimum corporate tax for banks. Trasolini strongly believes that the Murray-Clarke Connector should be built and the province should help pay for it.
ADVANCE POLLS BUSY
Saturday was a busy day for advance voting in the riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam when nearly 1,000 people turned out to the polls.
The day's turnout ran counter to expectations because advance poll numbers typically drop as the polling continues through the week. However, Elections BC communications manager Don Main said the numbers overall are within a per centage point of what the advance poll numbers were during the 2009 provincial election.
According to elections BC, a total of 2,665 residents voted in the advance polls last week compared to 3,178 votes cast in advance polls in the 2009 general election.
Between 39% and 57% of the 33,487 registered voters in the Port Moody-Coquitlam electoral district are expected to go to the polls tomorrow, based on the last general election and a byelection held last year, which was won by Premier Christy Clark.
Polls will be open for general voting from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
For more information and a complete list of general voting day voting locations, visit the Elections BC website at www.elections.bc.ca.
WHO THEY ARE
BC Liberals
Dennis Marsden, a credit union manager, past-president of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce in 2007, sports coach and referee, and current treasurer of the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation.
www.dennismarsden.ca
BC NDP
Joe Trasolini, owner of a contracting firm, elected to Port Moody council in 1996 and 1999 elected mayor of the city, a job he held until last fall. He has served as a director of Metro Vancouver and on TransLink's Mayor's Council.
www.joetrasolini.bcndp.ca
BC Conservatives
Christine Clarke, the director and chair of advocacy for the Canadian Skin Patient Alliance, former manager, entrepreneur, volunteer music instructor with a local Montessori school and past president of the Okanagan Montessori Elementary School Society.
www.votechristineclarke.ca
