These days, Amy Haysom drives her small white campaign truck, to and from Salt Spring Island.
The right-hand drive vehicle is her caravan of hope as she seeks to introduce a unique voice in the B.C. Legislature.
Haysom is running as an independent candidate hoping to represent the Saanich North and Gulf Islands as a member of the legislative assembly.
“I am, in terms of being an independent, beholden to the constituents, not to party politics,” she said.
Haysom’s campaign platform was formed out of her lived experience.
As a parent, waiting in line for a family doctor, a renter struggling with affordable housing, a former educator advocating for teachers and people in education, a lover of the arts, a yoga instructor, an environmentalist and a cyclist hoping to bring more transportation access for bicycles in her riding.
"I’m approaching my campaign from a grassroots level, where my experience can truly resonate with people on the ground.”
Relatability is something Haysom believes sets her apart from the other candidates.
That, plus the fact that she’s the only one who has lived both on the peninsula and the outer islands, which she says is key to having a deeper understanding of the unique needs of the community.
"Affordable housing is a big issue in the community," she says.
“When most of your income is going to housing, you can't contribute to the economy, engage with small business, engage with the arts, which is really important in creating a better community and culture.”
Haysom is looking at creative solutions through bylaw amendments on Salt Spring Island to introduce affordable housing options such as tiny homes and geodesic domes.
“We also need to prioritize health care,” the 45-year-old mother adds, “proper and improved health care, particularly for seniors in this riding."
Haysom’s decision to run as an independent candidate may be misconstrued as an impulsive move resulting from her exclusion from the BC Greens after she was asked to withdraw, but she has always believed in the non-partisan system of governance, citing the Northwest Territories’ unique consensus government system, where instead of parties, MLAs are elected as independents.
“I really recognize that seeing on the ground, direct democracy style with constituents is best done as an independent.”
Amy Haysom has a degree in Sociology and International Relations, worked at UVic’s Centre for Global Studies, Canadian Commission for UNESCO and spent more than a decade as a teacher.
