Sunday June 11, 2023 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated 9:45 pm]
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
FOR UPDATES: VISIT THE ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS BY-ELECTION NEWS SECTION
Advance voting in the Langford-Juan de Fuca by-election will start this coming Friday June 16. So there’s been no lack of campaigning going on around Langford and Sooke.
Advance voting will be open for six consecutive days: June 16 through 21. That’s in the run-up to the full by-election voting day on Saturday June 24. See voting dates, times and locations.
The bright colours of the campaigns are seen in signage, flyers, campaign buttons and such. The assortment of signage looks pretty festive on some street corners with the BC NDP orange and light blue, BC Green green and pink, BC United teal and magenta, and BC Conservative dark blue with red.
High-profile candidates who are vying to fill the vacant MLA seat in the BC Legislature include Ravi Parmar (BC NDP), Camille Currie (BC Greens), Elena Lawson (BC United), and Mike Harris (BC Conservative).
Premier Eby hopes for fair competition:
The June 24, 2023 by-election date was announced this past weekend by Premier David Eby just ahead of his departure on an Indo-Pacific trade mission. There is also a by-election happening concurrently in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant.
Eby said back on May 27 that he wishes all the candidates well with their campaigns, and that the competition is fair. He noted that Langford is a fast-growing vibrant community, one of the areas where a lot of the in-migration to BC is taking place and where current residents are relocating.
Signage works:
Many people get their news and campaign updates online. But when out and about in the community, any campaign signage is a reminder that the by-election is happening and who is aiming to represent the community.
Larger signage gets attention from drivers, while smaller signage is probably more easily readable at eye-level for cyclists and pedestrians.
Signage colours help voters distinguish between the parties, as a form of instant recognition. Still seems to be that the bigger the sign, the better. Or, having several signs populating one boulevard or corner.
People are making decisions:
Of course many party-faithful will know who they are voting for. People who’ve yet to decide which candidate or party to vote for are the main target of all the campaign marketing.
- BC NDP candidate Ravi Parmar is thought by many to be the frontrunner. He’s been former Premier Horgan’s pick for at least a decade, and has a robust ground-team helping with his campaign. His large campaign office at 3100 Jacklin Road is plastered with orange signage and there’s tall billboard-type sign out front as well.
- BC Green candidate Camille Currie was high-profile through her work in the past year or so in lobbying for improved health-care in BC. She got a solid launch by BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau and the BC Green team back in April, and has a high-profile location for her campaign office on Goldstream Avenue in Langford.
- BC United candidate Elena Lawson held her campaign launch in the Langford Business Centre on Peatt Road last month, accompanied by BC United Leader Kevin Falcon.
- BC Conservative candidate Mike Harris seems to have broad business connections through his work in real estate. He is bringing a higher profile for the party to this by-election than has been seen in previous elections.
Triggering a school board election:
If Parmar wins, that will eventually trigger a by-election in Sooke School District 62 (Parmar would step down from his trustee seat on the SD62 board); a school board by-election would be called within six months in the Belmont Zone (for voters in Langford, Highlands, Colwood and Metchosin).
Parmar knew for a long while that he would be running to fill the empty seat in Langord-Juan de Fuca after Horgan resigned. Parmar ran for school trustee again back in October 2022 so he’d be prominently positioned for the next step that the BC NDP had be banking on for some time.
Voting:
Voters in Langford, Sooke, Highlands and Juan de Fuca may vote in the Langford-Juan de Fuca by-election. The voting area does *not* include Metchosin or Colwood.
Advance voting will be open at Elections BC by-election voting places around Langford, Sooke and Juan de Fuca during June 16 to 21, from 8 am to 8 pm.
Voting day is Saturday June 24, 2023. Voting places will be open 8 am to 8 pm.
Is your voter information up to date? update your Voter Information on the Elections BC website.
District Electoral Office in Langford:
The District Electoral Office (DEO) for Langford-Juan de Fuca is at 110-955 Reunion Ave (in the Belmont Market shopping mall, off Jacklin Road).
On Advance Voting Days and Election Day the DEO will be open 8 am to 8 pm. Otherwise, they are now open Mon-Fri 9 am to 5 pm, and Saturdays 10 am to 4 pm.
===== RELATED:
- 13 voting places for Langford-Juan de Fuca by-election (June 5, 2023)
- Langford-Juan de Fuca by-election could lead to SD62 by-election (June 1, 2023)
- Langford-Juan de Fuca District Electoral Office in Langford (May 31, 2023)
- By-election signage going up around Langford-Juan de Fuca (May 29, 2023)
- BC NDP candidate Ravi Parmar’s campaign office opened May 28 (May 28, 2023)
- Two BC by-elections called for June 24 (May 27, 2023)
- Premier Eby expected to call by-election on May 27 (May 26, 2023)
- Upcoming by-elections are critically important for voters, says Eby (May 25, 2023)
- Eby calling by-election shortly, Parmar expects tight race in Langford-Juan de Fuca (May 25, 2023)
- More: ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS BY-ELECTION NEWS SECTION
- Map: Voter area for Langford-Juan de Fuca (Elections BC)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends (and the previous publications MapleLine Magazine 2008-2010, Sooke Voice News 2011-2013, and West Shore Voice News 2014-2020) delivers socioeconomic news insights about life on the west shore of south Vancouver Island. All news is posted at IslandSocialTrends.ca . Editor Mary P Brooke. Published by Brookeline Publishing House Inc. | Never miss a story: PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION SIGNUP