Voters can look forward to a more active local political scene now that Bruce Bidgood was chosen to represent the New Democratic Party in the Skeena riding in the May 9 provincial election.
Bidgood is a professor at the University of Northern British Columbia and was one of four nominees voted on at a Skeena NDP meeting Jan. 14, a vote that was made necessary when veteran NDP MLA Robin Austin announced last year that he would not be running again. Austin has represented the riding since 2005.
Also running were former Kitsumkalum band councillor and former school trustee Nicole Halbauer, Terrace city councillor Michael Prevost and Sarah Zimmerman, the communications director at Northwest Community College.
“Ellis Ross, get ready,” said Bidgood in referring to the BC Liberal candidate.
Bidgood said it wouldn’t just be his supporters working on his campaign, but also those who backed the other candidates.
A former Terrace city councillor and former chair of the Kitimat-Stikine regional district, Bidgood used his time in municipal office to lobby on behalf of local northwestern B.C. governments for a share of taxes from resource industries now going to the provincial government.
Final voting results were not released and balloting was done all at once with voters ranking their candidates by order of preference. The last place candidate was then dropped off and that person’s second choice distributed to the remaining three.
It took more than 90 minutes for the result to be announced and it is understood all three rounds of counting were needed.