The view from Pete

We enter the BC Election campaign in 2024 starting today with a stark choice at hand. One side, imperfect, offers a new term extending out what its started. That means continuing the land reforms to speed up home construction; expanding supply rapidly to address both a housing shortage and affordability issue. This side also tackles the problems facing the unhoused, those facing addiction issues and climate change.

The sitting government, the NDP, has moved quickly with regulatory changes that streamline the processes for new home construction; blocking the obstruction put up by ‘nimby’ type local govt politicians who act as gatekeepers.

Homelessness and addiction issues have been a problem all over North America and beyond, yet the critics of the NDP will argue that its entirely a BC problem and the NDP (namely David Eby) is personally responsible for this mess. This attack is one of the most disingenuous attacks ever foisted by a political entity ever in BC…but it doesn’t stop there.

The opponents to this government argue that the NDP is a hotbed of antisemitism and hate. This would be alarming news for some in the party, like this candidate.

In the last few months, we have seen the collapse of the once-mighty BC United party; previously named BC Liberal Party. They saw their polling and fundraising collapse and it triggered an unusual response from leader Kevin Falcon. He suspended the party from running candidates under the party banner and endorsed the BC Conservatives (who had been poaching MLA’s and candidates from BC United).

Unusual because other than the negative trend the party was facing, it still had institutional strength and the mechanisms of a governing party. Even of yours truly was never one of their supporters. I have never seen such a stunt. But BC politics has its surprises.

Clearly however, a calculation was made that the supporters of one party would simply vote for the other should their own party not be on the ballot. This is folly, and supreme arrogance. That its been tried now is a cynical, naked power grab. Fortunately, BC voters are wiser than that.

It also makes no sense. Former BC United supporters aren’t uniformly socially conservative, which is the bedrock pillar of the BC Conservative party. They have other ballot options.

So now the voters in BC have an opportunity to do the most amazing thing. I purposely point to the example in the USA regarding their ballot choice.

One could vote for Trump, and endorse some of the most vile rhetoric, divisive politics, criminality and treason-like behaviour he has exhibited, or one could vote for Kamala Harris, the Democrat in the race.

What we’re seeing in the American Presidential race is a coalescing of varied interests within the American progressive universe along side moderates and anti-Trump conservatives. While at a policy level there may be little between them to share as common ground, they do hold the very essence of the rule of law and decency of the office of President as their unifying force.

The same paradigm shift is now in play here in BC.

The NDP, while far from perfect, face an opponent who has lurched so far to the right, they’re nearly off the cliff.

The BC Conservatives, at the leadership level, might not openly endorse incoherent and intolerant conspiracy theories. But as it seems, candidates and activists in their universe holding completely batshit ideas are not overly discouraged either. This is not a worldview that matches up with an overwhelming majority of British Columbians, not at all.

While we can argue about what policy shifts and nuances we like/dislike about the NDP, we should all agree that a government led by the BC Conservatives is a fundamental danger to our province.

So my call is to those outside my bubble and those outside the traditional NDP voting block who love their province more than they love partisan divisions. Unite with your neighbors and friends to vote for the NDP to save our province and halt forever the scourge of backward facing politicians who exploit fears and apprehensions for cynical partisan gain.

We can choose hope. Hope over fear.

My2bits