NDP candidate Patti MacAhonic speaks at the opening of her Chilliwack campaign office Saturday.
Photograph by: Paul J. Henderson , TIMES
The official start of the 2013 British Columbia election campaign is just under four weeks away and all candidates are ramping up activity.
BC Liberal candidates John Martin (Chilliwack) and Laurie Throness (Chilliwack-Hope) will be doling out slow-cooked goodness Saturday at the second annual Big Red Barn Burner BBQ at Chilliwack Heritage Park.
This is a sanctioned professional BBQ event that Martin competed in last year. This year his entry will have be an official BC Liberal team so many jokes about "liberal" portions and pulled-pork barrel politics have already circulated.
The two are planning on sharing a campaign office at the site of Martin's when he ran for the BC Conservatives in the 2012 Chilliwack-Hope byelection.
Local New Democrats are ramping up their campaign too. Chilliwack riding NDP candidate Patti MacAhonic had approximately 80 supporters in attendance at the opening of her campaign office on Yale Road on Saturday.
"A lot of people say we have never had an NDP in Chilliwack," she told the crowd. "But you know what, we never had an NDP in Chiliwack-Hope either [until O'Mahony won the 2012 byelection]."
O'Mahony hasn't yet opened a campaign office but this week said she would be holding "mobile offices" throughout her riding.
"This is an opportunity for me to connect with constituents in their communities," O'Mahony said in a press release. "This is a huge riding of incredible diversity, spread out over mountains, canyons and valleys. Going on the road is a great way to reach out over some of those geographical challenges."
O'Mahony's mobile office will be at Seabird Island on March 21 from 10 a.m. to noon, Sts'ailes reserve on March 21 from 1 to 3 p.m., and Cheam reserve on March 22 from 10 a.m. to noon.
BC Conservative candidate Chad Eros (Chilliwack) hosted a meet-and-greet at Decade's Wednesday and he has been putting considerable energy into his social media campaign, as has fellow Conservative Michael Henshall (Chilliwack-Hope).
Chiliwack Green Party candidate Kim Reimer has just created a Twitter account and is just getting started with her social media campaign.
