After months of rumours and speculation, the Liberal Party's local riding president has confirmed that Squamish Mayor Ian Sutherland will run for Parliament.Sutherland is expected to be acclaimed tomorrow (Sept. 6) as the Liberal candidate in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country following a nomination meeting in West Vancouver Ken Halliday, president of the Liberal riding association, said three people had submitted their applications to the party's green-light committee, which vets prospective candidates. "Two of them had been green-lighted, and third one hadn't been yet," said Halliday. "I was urging the green-light committee to finish that process so we could have an open contest."The third person was from the prairies, Halliday said, and had applied just like the other interested people. "As it turned out, he didn't get green-lighted. So there was only two, and one of the two, Bal Brar from Pender Harbour, decided to withdraw in support of the other green-lighted candidate, Ian Sutherland, the mayor of Squamish."Halliday said Sutherland has done a "great job" as mayor and believes he will make a "great candidate."Sutherland said he's both excited and nervous about the prospect of running for the federal party. "It's one of those things it's a new challenge, it's a new adventure, it's going to be a lot of fun for the next six weeks or so during the campaign."Sutherland said his interest in running federally came from a desire to "make a difference on a different level."He said he was attracted to the Liberals because the party philosophy works well with his own."I've always been a fiscal conservative and a social liberal you compare the Liberal record on fiscal responsibility and what's happened in the last two years or so, when you look at things like national health care and Kyoto Accord, funding for arts, the green shift that Mr. Dion has brought forward versus no real plan from the Conservative Party, those are all factors that come into it."Sutherland says he's aware of the challenge of facing off against Conservative candidate John Weston, who will be campaigning for the second time in the riding. "It's going to be a bit of catch up in the beginning. Probably in the Sea to Sky Corridor, most people would recognize my name at least. "But John Weston ran in the last campaign and he's been running ever since. More importantly I would assume that campaign signs and brochures and so on are packed away in boxes ready to go the day the announcement is made. In our case we're starting behind that." Sutherland placed the blame for the challenge on Stephen Harper's shoulders."It's interesting that we have a snap election because of a broken promise from the Prime Minister, but we've got to play with that and make our best." In 2006, MP Blair Wilson, then a Liberal, won 37.5 per cent of the vote, compared with 35 per cent for Weston. New Democrat Judith Wilson came third with 20 per cent. The Greens ran fourth with six per cent. Wilson will run for the Green Party in the upcoming federal election (see related story page A1).Sutherland had little to say about the current MP's decision to join the Green Party. The Liberal Party rejected Wilson's appeal to return to the fold following allegations of campaign misspending during his last federal election."I guess he feels that his best opportunity is to join the Green Party," said Sutherland, "and that's definitely his decision to make. It adds a new wrinkle to the campaign. It is what it is."Following the nomination meeting, Sutherland said he intends to being talking to the riding's constituents' and gathering the concerns each community faces. "Coming from local government I think you have a big advantage in that area because we deal with local problems everyday." He said he also intends to continue in his duties as Squamish mayor, but recuse himself from decisions that involve federal issues.
