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Penticton realtor announces candidacy for Conservatives in MP race

Marshall Neufeld, a former Parliamentary aid to Stockwell Day, announced recently that he will join the MP race.
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Penticton’s Marshall Neufeld was in Grand Forks recently meeting local Conservatives.

A new candidate for the South Okanagan West Kootenay region has emerged out of Penticton. Marshall Neufeld, a former Parliamentary aid to Stockwell Day, announced recently that he will run for the candidacy for the Conservative party in the area.Neufeld was born and raised in Penticton and after a year working in North Vancouver returned to the Peach City.He trained as a rehabilitation assistant in Kelowna and eventually worked at a senior’s home in Penticton and also volunteered as an assistant with then-MP Stockwell Day.In 2006, he was hired on full-time as a Parliamentary assistant for Day. “I was there for two years with Stockwell,” said Neufeld. “The first year I was junior Parliamentary assistance. The second year I was senior Parliamentary assistant so I ran the office in Ottawa and worked on Parliament Hill.”Among his duties, Neufeld helped go through from between 500-1,000 emails per day for Day. “I was basically his personal secretary on the hill,” he said. “I would also run errands and follow up on any files that he wanted to pursue that weren’t under his normal portfolio he’d give over to me.”Neufeld said it was great experience working with Day and getting a chance to see how Parliament Hill works.“It was tremendous,” said Neufeld. “He’s a man of incredible integrity. I didn’t really realize how fantastic he was until I started to work with him. He’s completely consistent whether he’s in his riding, in Ottawa or working privately with someone in an office or public setting. He’s a down to earth guy who really wants to help society.”Neufeld said that Day has been a great influence on him and his decision to get into politics.“He inspired me and made me realize how much good a person can accomplish within politics,” he said. “That’s really what I wanted achieve by running myself. I would like to be an MP who’s here to serve the people and make the country and the riding a better place.”Neufeld left Day to become a realtor in Penticton. He stayed involved in politics as a volunteer. He was Conservative Party riding president for Okanagan-Coquihalla up until he was elected to the national council.“I was one of two representatives from B.C.,” he said. “We would meet quarter and go over the general oversight of the party.”He later became riding president again at the urging of Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Dan Albas. He was also riding president of the newly created South Okanagan West Kootenay riding, but stepped down on Dec. 9 to run as candidate for the Conservative party in the next general election.Neufeld is pleased with the support he has received so far as he has toured the riding and is looking forward to connecting with more Conservative supporters in the future.“I’m feeling good about the support so far but it’s important to me to be a candidate and future MP for the entire area,” he said. “That’s why in the first week I’m having events in Penticton, Castlegar, Trail and Grand Forks.”Neufeld said the date has not been chosen yet for the nomination for the Conservatives. The next federal election date is set for Oct. 19, 2015.