The announcement for Cariboo-Prince George's latest Tory candidate was a long time coming. Outgoing Prince George mayor Shari Green finally gave truth to the rumours at her official unveiling Wednesday afternoon
"I think I've got a pretty proven track record," said Green to a room of more than 60 supporters. "The race is on and you will have a choice to make. For me the overwhelming difference I think I bring to this table is that I do have political experience. I think that's pretty critical now."
Green highlighted her record on crime, experience winning elections and fiscal responsibility.
She cited her work "negotiating one of the lowest municipal wage contracts in the province" as an example of taking "tax dollars as far as they could go."
A change in approach to policing and crime in the north is something she said she's prepared to tackle.
"We've really got to come together and think of policing in a different way," said Green, because of the higher proportions of crime in northern B.C. cities, including this riding.
It's something she'd like to tackle through federal and provincial partnerships.
Green noted the size of the riding and said she has the business and community relationships across the region a successful MP needs. She kicked off the day announcing her candidacy in Vanderhoof and ended the day in Quesnel and Williams Lake.
She had the support of four community members at the event, including Janine North, the CEO of the Northern Development Initiative Trust.
"I've seen her around the board table do the right things for the region first in her thinking," said North, who said Green is decisive, has a strong fiscal record and has partners in local business and politics.
"A stronger Prince George is about a stronger north."
That theme of demanding more attention from Ottawa rang through in Green's speech as well, though she said federal politics wasn't something she planned on.
"It's kind of been an evolution in my experiences that I've had as a parent, in school and broadening to a business association and then to the council table. My field of vision I think has grown over time to see a bigger picture of what this community and this riding needs."
She called the candidacy race a "numbers game", given only card-carrying members can vote in the next Tory representative. Green wouldn't comment on the number of supporters she's signed up. That membership deadline is Nov. 20.
Though Green said she couldn't lock down a date when she made the decision to run, she acknowledge she's been testing the waters for months.
"It hasn't been campaigning, it's been gauging support," said Green, who will take a leave of absence from her position on the riding association's board.
"I'm a Conservative member, have been for some time," she said of signing up new members. "I believe in this riding and in this party and I want to make sure it is a strong Conservative riding."
She said that push began around the time of the party's AGM in May, also when she made it public she would not be seeking municipal re-election.
"That's about the time I think people were getting organized and ready to participate and think about what the future might look like for the riding."
That future should look different than the previous two decades under perennial backbencher and outgoing MP Dick Harris.
"I think that people are looking for something more and that they don't want more of the same," she said. "Federally I think it's our turn. People are looking for more from Ottawa in this region and we'd like to see more opportunity come our way, more dollars certainly flow our way."
With Green's announcement, the race officially has five applicants, including economist Nick Fedorkiw, Vanderhoof teacher Gerald Caron, Harris-backed local businessman Todd Doherty and restaurateur T.J. Grewal, who announced his candidacy Tuesday.
