Arnold ready to get to work

Photo: Darren Handschuh

The first thing Mel Arnold wants to do as MP elect for the North Okanagan-Shuswap riding is to thank the many people who made his win possible.

The Conservative enjoyed a significant lead over second-place Liberal hopeful Cindy Derkaz.

Arnold finished election day with 39 per cent of the vote or 27,490 ballots, while Derkaz had 30 per cent of the vote or 20,951 ballots.

Despite winning by a healthy margin, the numbers are still noticeably lower than the 2011 election when local Tory candidate Colin Mayes earned some 55 per cent support.

Nationally, the Conservatives lost power and are reduced to official opposition status while the Liberal Party dominated the election, including winning seats in B.C.

Arnold believes the once-mighty Tories must now work their way back into favour with the voting public.

“The voters have spoken and democracy took its course last night,” Arnold said Tuesday. “We have to take a look at where we've been and where we want to get to."

"If you have the policies the people support we can see a big change again in another four years. It's a matter of putting a team together that works together with a common goal.”

This is the first time Arnold has held political office of any sort, and he believes that will work in his favour.

“I think it gives me a better understanding of a layman's interest so I can understand those underground issues a little better,” he said.

One issue the MP elect will have to address locally is being accessible to his constituents. His predecessor, Mayes, was criticized on occasion for not being easy to reach.

“People have told me 'we are supporting you because you are approachable',” said Arnold. "I am going to be accessible as soon as we can get our office up and running. I just want to be available to the constituents.”

Like Mayes, Arnold lives in Salmon Arm, but plans to have his main office in Vernon with a satellite office in the Shuswap community.