Thomson supports Stone

BC Liberal leadership hopeful Todd Stone has received a high-level endorsement.

Kelowna-Mission MLA and former Forests Minister Steve Thomson has thrown his support behind Stone.

Thomson made the announcement during a brief press conference Wednesday morning at the Hotel Eldorado after careful consideration of the six candidates running to replace Christy Clark at the top of the party.

He believes Stone is the right person to rebuild the Liberal Party after it narrowly lost the last provincial election.

"He has a great vision and great platform, one that is built on fiscal responsibility," says Thomson.

"He brings real leadership qualities to his campaign, and I think he's the right person, the next generation of leadership for our parties."

For his part, Stone believes his campaign is starting to take off as it hit the halfway mark, because he says, "British Columbians are inspired about what we are putting out there."

He says the campaign is all about offering a new generation of leadership, one focused on listening, while offering tangible and courageous ideas.

"Our vision is very much on a strong fiscal foundation. Balanced budgets, a continued commitment to keeping taxes down," said Stone.

"We want to roll back all the tax increases the NDP have imposed. We want to cut the PST by a point, we want to modernize the PST to enable BC business to be more competitive."

As for the Okanagan, Stone says the province needs to tap into the innovation and energy within the tech sector.

But, while the tech sector is vital, Stone says Kelowna is blessed with a very diverse economy which needs to be maintained, including a vibrant agriculture, tree fruits and wine industry.

Liberal card holders will elect a new leader in early February.

Photo: Wayne Moore

Todd Stone (l) and Kelowna-Mission MLA Steve Thomson