KAMLOOPS — A second member of Kamloops council is declaring his provincial aspirations.
Donovan Cavers announced this morning he is putting his name forward in Kamloops-South Thompson, under the BC Green Party banner.
Cavers has run federally for the Green party twice, but has never run provincially before.
He becomes the second member of Kamloops council to declare provincial aspirations.
Mayor Peter Milobar announced his candidacy for the BC Liberal nomination in Kamloops-North Thompson earlier this week.
Cavers began his campaign by diverging from the mayor on paying for the cost of a civic by-election, if it’s required.
Whereas Milobar says that would be an unfair precedent to set, Cavers says he would pay for a by-election in order to spare taxpayers that expense.
“It will be about a year and a half out from the next council municipal election, and it will basically be up to the discretion of council whether they want to leave the seats open or not,” Cavers said. “By switching levels of government it leaves a vacancy, and so I feel like it’s a responsibility of the person who left that vacancy to cover that cost and not leave the tax-payer to foot the bill.”
Dan Hines has previously said he will seek the Green nomination in Kamloops-North Thompson, but a competitor for that nomination may still come forward.
He was at Cavers’ announcement to lend his support.
“I think we’re going to do really well in Kamloops,” Hines said. “I don’t think it’s going to be surprising to us, but I know it’s going to be surprising to some of those people who are stuck on the old script and think that there are only two parties when in a parliamentary system we know that’s not the case, parties come in to be, and the B.C. Liberals didn’t exist before a decade ago.
“Parties come and go, and I think this is the moment for the Greens, this is going to be the decade for the Greens, I think.”
EXTRA: Learn more about all candidates running in the 2017 Provincial Election
