Frankly Speaking

Dianne Watts is running for the BC Liberal Party leadership. Dianne Watts is in, as a contender for the BC Liberal party leadership. The South Surrey-White Rock Conservative MP announced on Sunday that she will run in what will be an fairly short leadership campaign. The new BC Liberal party leader will be named, after a vote by party members, on Feb. 3. Watts is also resigning as an MP, effective immediately. Watts was widely suggested as a possible candidate for the leadership in 2011, when Christy Clark won. At that time, of course, the BC Liberals were in power and winning the leadership came with the added bonus of becoming premier. Clark ran an excellent campaign in 2013 and boosted the party’s seat count in an election that almost everyone thought would go to the NDP. Back in 2011, Watts was in the process of finishing her first six years as Surrey mayor and was extremely popular in Surrey and throughout the region. She won the 2011 election a few months later wit...

My first foray into this year's federal election came Tuesday night, when I served as moderator of a candidates' forum in the riding of South Surrey-White Rock. Of the six candidates on the ballot, four had been invited by the organizers to speak. South Fraser Unitarian congregation and Crescent United Church organized the event, held at the United Church. The facility was packed, with more than 200 in attendance. Organizers Ann Bryce, Joan Wilson and Lynn McKay did an excellent job. They wanted the forum to concentrate on two major issues, climate change and end of life (specifically physician-assisted dying), which will be in front of the next Parliament, and prepared eight questions on these topics. The responses took up most of the meeting. In attendance were Liberal Judy Higginbotham, NDP Pixie Hobby and Green Larry Colero. Conservative Dianne Watts, the popular former mayor of Surrey who has never taken a back seat to anyone, did not attend. Her campaign office said...