Stephen Andrew, a former city councillor in the City of Victoria has announced his candidacy for the Conservative Party of BC in the Oak Bay-Gordon Head electoral district.
“I’m running because, simply put, the policies of David Eby’s NDP are not meeting the needs of British Columbians, especially those in Oak Bay – Gordon Head,” said Andrew on social media when announcing his candidacy.
“After 7 years of NDP rule [sic] we have higher debts, worse health care outcomes, a sputtering economy, rampant unaffordability, an out-of-control drug epidemic and a breakdown of public safety.”
Before he was a City of Victoria councillor from 2020 to 2022, Andrew worked in the city as a television journalist, legislative reporter and radio talk show host—for which he won several awards.
In 2022, Andrew ran against Mayor Marianne Alto and lost by over 5,200 votes.
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The BC NDP’s Murray Rankin currently holds Andrew’s sought after seat in the Legislative Assembly; however, Rankin has announced he will not be seeking re-election this October.
Prior to Rankin representing the Oak Bay-Gordon Head riding, the BC Green Party’s Andrew Weaver was the elected representative and before him, the seat was represented by the Liberal Party from 1996 to 2013.
This riding has never voted in a Conservative Party of BC candidate, as before the Liberals, the BC NDP and the Social Credit Party held the seat—although the Social Credit Party was aligned as a centre-right to right-wing party.
Andrew will be facing off against the BC NDP’s Diana Gibson, who is taking over since Rankin announced he will not be running, and the BC Green’s Dr. Lisa Gunderson.
The election date is slated for October 19th.
