CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) -
New Democrats in BC have nominated a candidate for the upcoming byelection in Chilliwack-Hope — an area that's traditionally a conservative stronghold.
The room was packed but only 35 delegates took part in the voting and
Gwen O'Mahony won the nomination on the first ballot over rivals Kathleen Stephany and Dennis Adamson.
She ran in the 2009 provincial election and lost to Liberal MLA Barry Penner, whose recent resignation paved the way for a byelection. O'Mahony also ran in the last federal election and placed a distant second to Conservative Mark Strahl.
She plans to take the Liberals to task on gaming grant cuts and environmental issues, among other things.
NDP Leader
Adrian Dix gave a rousing speech at the meeting, which was also attended by a number of other NDP MLAs.
Names of Liberal candidates vying for the Chilliwack-Hope nomination have not yet been announced.
John Martin is running for the Conservatives.
The premier has yet to call the byelection and most likely won't until the Liberal candidate is officially chosen next week.
-With files from The Canadian Press