Kelly Darwin hasn’t been door knocking or canvassing for the Oct. 24 provincial election, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t gotten his name out to voters.
The Liberal candidate running in the Langford-Juan de Fuca riding has been Facebook Live events to get his platform on the table. Darwin says he hosts four livestreams a week with his co-host of West Shore Business Podcast, where business owners chat about their challenges and successes in the community.
Each Friday, Darwin cracks open a cold one for Have a Beer with the Candidate. They discuss their campaigning efforts and provide a recap of what happened in their lives that week.
With the days counting down, he believes he’s seeing enough traction and its been way to narrow his campaign focus.
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Meanwhile, B.C. Green candidate Gord Baird, running in the same riding, has found that it’s been tough to amplify his message to social media.
“I’m usually sharp and edgy and it’s tough trying to capture people’s attention online,” said the 51-year-old in his second-term on Highlands council.
“I’ve been so focused on getting the campaign up and running in such a short amount of time that I have completely not been focusing on the publicity.”
Baird reinforces the idea that he doesn’t want to see one dominant party take hold after the provincial election. Instead, he wants to continue to see a collaborative efforts that pulls parties together – something he believes the snap election has uprooted.
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While Darwin and Baird have eased off on the door-knocking approach due to the pandemic, Tyson Strandlund from the Communist Party of B.C., has taken to the streets.
The 28-year-old says he’s been able to meet a variety of community members, mostly younger people, who share his values and see potential in his platform. He pointed out that he and his volunteers make sure to wear masks and maintain social distance when speaking to voters.
Though he wasn’t able to get lawn signs up in time for the election, he’s making an effort to focus on a couple of upcoming events. He’ll be a part of a socially distanced meet and greet with his four Communist party candidates on Friday (Oct. 16) in Victoria and will take part in a live webinar with the same group of people on Monday (Oct. 19).
“Campaigning is always tough, even if I wasn’t campaigning province-wide,” said B.C. NDP leader John Horgan. “My heart and soul are in my community and I have missed seeing my neighbours, the folks who run places like Dad’s Soup and Sangy’s, and popping into the local barbershop to say hello to everyone.”
Horgan said he’s been able to talk to voters in his riding one on one in the handful of times he’s visited home during his campaign. He pointed out that his staff has been keeping him informed on any updates about “what’s happening on the ground”. He credits the relationships he’s made with community leaders in his past 15 years as an MLA.
Both B.C. Greens’ Baird and Communist Party’s Strandlund will be voting on the day of the election, while B.C. Liberal’s Darwin has already submitted his vote by mail-in ballot. Horgan is undecided, but is leaning towards filling his ballot at an advanced voting poll.
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