BC Conservatives; a chance to “give BC a common sense choice” ... and a “principled choice”



Former Conservative MP John Cummins announces
leadership bid for the BC Conservative Party



I like what the Globe and Mail had to say this afternoon, following John Cummins announcement that he plans to seek the leadership of the BC Conservative Party. They said;

Freshly resigned former Tory MP John Cummins has announced his candidacy for the leadership of the B.C. Conservatives … the veteran politician … told dozens of cheering supporters in Vancouver he wants to give B.C. voters a real choice between the governing BC Liberals and the Opposition New Democrats.

Personally, I too am glad that he has chosen to seek the leadership for a number of reasons. First he brings a wealth of political knowledge with him to the job, something that has been missing from the leadership of most political parties trying to break the Liberal / NDP swing.

Additionally, he has been part of the Tactical Advisory Group, to the BC Conservatives.  I am sure if asked by John, and by members of the BC Conservative party, this group, lead by political veteran Randy White, will continue to provide advise that again has not previously been so readily available to third parties.

The other thing I am glad that John Cummins will bring to the table, is the kind of person I believe most British Columbian's will be able to relate to.

This is a guy that wore overalls and packed a lunch kit and thermos to work in the oil fields and and on hydro-electric projects --- this is a university educated man that taught you children in the school system -– this is a guy that worked long hard hours as a commercial fisherman on his own boat – and this is a guy that even though a maverick, had to know his way around the pitfalls and traps of the political system.

The BC Conservative party has been breathing new life into a political system that has fallen into disrepute with many British Columbian's … and now John Cummins has again brought new life and a new spirit to BC Conservatives.

John Cummins is not the boss, and he will not be dictating how and what direction the party will go. He will however speak for the thousands of British Columbian's who are feeling betrayed by those we have elected in recent years – people we have elected as our “representatives” -- but who have instead ended up being pawns directed by BC's Liberal premier, and by the leader of the NDP opposition.

For those who caught the news stories on TV, hopefully you heard John Cummins comment when asked about vote splitting. He said the the BC Conservatives would not be vote splitters – they would instead be “vote attractors” .

He said those words to the nearly 50% of people who have become so disillusioned, they have simply walked away from the political system. They have walked away because of a lack of accountability, and they have walked away because the no longer feel they have representation.

As John stated in his leadership launch speech:

I am running for the leadership of the new BC Conservatives to give British Columbian's real choice in the next election. BC voters need to be given a choice besides the status quo of the two old parties:

• a choice between transparency and deception
• a choice between listening and arrogance
• a choice between a government of the people and a government of special interests
• a choice between common sense and political correctness

I also liked when he said that, “government can do no wrong by listening more, and consulting more”. Imagine that, the leader of a political party actually saying that perhaps the people of the province might have ideas worthy of consideration.

What a novel idea, and not one that will be heard coming from Christy Clark and the BC Liberals, or whoever eventually becomes leader of the NDP.

A grassroots movement is slowly gaining momentum in the province under the banner of the BC Conservatives.  With the leadership announcement by John Cummins, the profile of the party will be raised even higher, which will help to bring more people on board.

Let the NDP and the Liberals shout all they want about vote splitting; the BC Conservatives are here to be “vote attractors” and give British Columbian's new hope in the democratic process.

In doing that they will indeed be able too … “give BC a common sense choice” … and a “principled choice” that reflects our values and priorities.

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops, and those are the thoughts of one conservative.