A Grand Forks resident and sitting city councillor won the provincial NDP nomination over the weekend, making her the candidate for the Boundary-Similkameen constituency for the May 9 provincial election and raising questions about what it could mean for Grand Forks council should she win.
Colleen Ross, a local farmer, announced her run for the provincial NDP in November. Following two months of campaigning and travelling across the constituency, Ross attended the convention in Oliver on Sunday, where she said she handily won the nomination. While Ross cited party policy prohibiting the release of voting numbers, she said there was “no doubt” about her win.
For NDP members across the region, Sunday was the first chance to hear Ross and her opponent, Osoyoos-based Brenda Dorosz, speak side by side. As a result, Ross said many NDP members voted on convention day.
Ross, who has an extensive history of working with grassroots organizations and political organizations on the national and international stage, said she doesn’t feel out of place running a provincial campaign – although this is her first run at provincial office.
Her strategy is changing as she makes a go in the provincial election, as she is no longer appealing to NDP members who, by default, share her values.
“Now it is about the issues and what the NPD can bring to the constituency. My job is not to appeal to NDP members but to reach the hearts and minds of people,” Ross said. “Some of them are non-partisan, non-voters, youth, people who would vote Conservative or are swing voters … So now it is everybody, and that’s my job is to get out there and make myself accessible. It is a huge constituency.”
Although she said she will make every effort in the coming months to keep her council responsibilities separate from her campaign, Ross did address the issue as a factor going forward.
“I will endeavor to attend every meeting between now and the election. I take it very seriously,” she said.
Ross was elected in 2014 as a first time councillor and is scheduled to sit until 2018. Should she win the provincial election, she will vacate her seat. At that point, Ross said the city can apply to the province to be excused from holding a byelection, given the short period between her leaving and the next municipal election.
“Rather than burden the community with another byelection, we can apply to keep it vacant,” she said.
Reaction to her nomination has been mixed on social media, with many questioning how this will affect the city in the coming months. However, Ross said reaction from her fellow councillors has been positive.
“They were congratulatory and respectful, we have a good relationship,” Ross said. “They really support me in what I am doing, not necessarily that they will vote for me, but supporting who I am.”
Over the weeks ahead, Ross said she will be setting up campaign offices and begin hosting events and meeting with voters. Her main office will be based in Grand Forks, but she said she will also be setting up in Oliver and Princeton. While she acknowledges the past few days have been a whirlwind of media interviews and launching her campaign, Ross said a highlight so far was meeting with members of the Indo-Canadian farming community immediately after the convention.
In the long campaigning months ahead, Ross said she is excited to travel the riding and meet voters.
“What am I excited about? My daughter is having her first baby!” she said. “In the campaign, I am excited about meeting people I normally would not meet. You live in your bubble, so I am excited about setting up in Bridesville and Big White and Westbridge, these little communities and meeting people I normally would not meet.”