On recruits

With the retirement of Con MP Jim Abbott, the Kootenay-Columbia riding may be a dark horse candidate for an NDP pickup. And in what looks to be both a sign of the NDP's strength and a boost to its chances, a former Lib candidate with a strong reputation in the area has decided to join a contested race for the NDP nomination:

It may be the dog days of summer, but the political pot is still simmering in the Kootenay-Columbia riding and now there is a new surprise.

Former Invermere mayor and Liberal candidate in Kootenay-Columbia Mark Shmigelsky intends to return to the fray and run in the next federal election.

But not as a Liberal.

Shmigelsky is seeking the NDP nod in the next federal election and he makes no apologies for abandoning the Liberal ship saying it’s a natural thing to do in the circumstances.

“You run for what you believe in,” he said in an interview with the Daily Townsman this week. “I believe in fiscal responsibility, but I believe in social programs too. I’m a centrist and a social democrat.”
...
Shmigelsky said he thinks the controversial HST will also be an issue in the next federal election. “The feds were the ones that put the carrot in front of the provincial government’s nose and offered them more than a billion to take it.”

The would-be NDP MP also questioned why current Conservative MP Jim Abbott announced his departure in February the way he did.. “We have an MP that said he retired, but if they’re not going to call an election until next spring that’s a long time to be going without an active MP.”

Sparwood Mayor David Wilks and Creston Councillor Wes Graham have announced they are seeking the Conservative nomination to replace Abbott and Creston businesswoman Rhonda Barter announced two months ago she will be going after the NDP nomination.

Of course, it's hardly news that the NDP has been looking to recruit strong politicians from other levels of government to its slate of candidates. And the Kootenay-Columbia area's history of electing NDP MPs and MLAs combined with Abbott's retirement looks to differentiate it from the ridings around it.

But it's still striking that a candidate with Shmigelsky's track record - as a three-term mayor with experience as a federal candidate - would cross party lines even in the knowledge that he'll face a contested nomination. And whether it's Shmigelsky or Rhonda Barter that emerges victorious as the NDP's nominee, the end result looks to be an excellent opportunity to win back what's been Reform/Con territory for far too long.

(Edit: fixed label; added link.)