With the BC Liberals trailing the New Democrats by double digits in the polls, North Island candidate Nick Facey faces a tough battle.
That’s why he’s been vigorously campaigning against NDP incumbent Claire Trevena for more than a month.
But the real campaigning began Tuesday with three candidates vying for North Island MLA in the May 14 provincial election. The third is Bob Bray for the BC Conservative Party.
Trevena, the region’s MLA since 2005, is the front-runner.
The latest public opinion polls (Angus Reid and Ipso Reid) show the NDP leading the Liberals by about 20 points with an approval rate ranging from 48-51 per cent, with the Liberals trailing at 28-32 per cent.
The Conservatives are far back along with the BC Green Party which has yet to announce a candidate for the North Island region. The Greens are running a candidate in the Comox Valley.
In the coming weeks, the Mirror will follow their campaigns and question the candidates on the issues.
Today though, let’s meet the candidates:
Claire Trevena,
NDP incumbent
The 50-year-old Quadra Island resident was first elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009.
In the early 1990s Trevena was the BBC’s Canadian correspondent and later was employed by the CBC.
Subsequently, she worked overseas on democratic development projects for which she was awarded the Canada Peacekeeping Medal.
And prior to the 2005 election, Trevena ran a small communications business with her husband Mike McIvor.
She has served as the NDP’s critic for children and family development, women’s issues, employment and income assistance, and also served as a Deputy Speaker of the House.
In 2007, Trevena was instrumental in delivering a 19,000-name petition to the Legislature which supported hospitals in both Campbell River and the Comox Valley.
Last year, the province, in partnership with the Comox-Strathcona Hospital Board, announced the building of two new hospitals in both communities at a cost of $600.
CONTACT:
Website: clairetrevena.bcndp.ca
e-mail: reelectclairetrevena@yahoo.ca
Campaign office: 1100 Shoppers Row, Campbell River
Nick Facey,
BC Liberals
The 26-year-old Campbell River resident is a political newcomer who received the North Island Liberal candidacy last October.
Facey is currently on leave from Simon Fraser University where he’s working towards a PhD at the Beedie School of Business. He has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Victoria and is also a certified university teacher who gives lectures at SFU.
While attending UVic, Facey worked as co-op engineer at the former Elk Falls Mill. He has strong ties to forestry and resource industries; his grandfather Bud worked as a logger in the North Island in the 1930s and his father Norm (who’s also working on the campaign) worked in resource industries for more than 30 years.
Facey lives with his common-law wife Chelsea Cofield and their dog, Leia. He plays hockey, golf and is a backyard mechanic who pulls wrenches for fun at Saratoga Speedway.
Facey’s campaign will focus on supporting economic growth, making better use of the region’s resources and supporting families.
CONTACT:
Website: northislandnick.ca
E-mail: nick.facey@bcliberals.com
Call: 250-204-0908
Constituency office: Georgia Quay, 102-901 Island Hwy., Campbell River
Bob Bray,
BC Conservatives
Bob Bray, 68, grew up in North Vancouver.
He and his wife Marilyn raised three children in Richmond and they now have seven grandchildren. Bray, a retired business executive, and his wife, a retired teacher, now live in Campbell River.
He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of B.C. (1966) and an MBA from SFU (1980). Bray first came in Campbell River in 1963 when he took a summer job near Middle Quinsam Lake studying grouse. And over a three-year period in the 1970s, Bray was a leader at summer-long family camps for group home children in the wilderness near Roberts Lake. He worked as an assistant administer for the Arthritis Society’s outpatient hospital, at UBC in a variety of positions including director of administration in the Faculty of Medicine, and, his last job, assistant general manager at Trev Deeley Motorcycles in Vancouver retailer. Bray believes in careful financial management and maintaining a civil society that meets “social justice goals.”
CONTACT:
Website: tuesdaymay14.shawwebspace.ca
E-mail: bob@bobbraystories.com
Call: 250-504-0052 or toll-free at 877-669-4774
Constituency office: 333-1434 Ironwood St., Campbell River