Liberal and NDP showdown set for Penticton

Photo: Contributed

In the upcoming snap provincial election, the Penticton riding is shaping up to be a battleground between incumbent Liberal MLA Dan Ashton and NDP challenger Toni Boot, current mayor of Summerland. 

Ashton was full of frustration Monday morning when Premier John Horgan announced the province would be going to the polls October 24. 

"This is about the NDP trying to garner a majority during probably the worst crisis that British Columbia, Canada and probably the world has ever faced other than the world wars," Ashton said. 

"There's an awful lot of people that aren't working, and businesses having a heck of a hard time."

He said his run for re-election will focus on his record of service in the legislature since 2013. 

"I'm standing on everything that I've done. I was always taught: under promise, and over deliver," Ashton said. "I have a track record of doing what I say I was going to do. And I will continue to do that." 

Challenger Boot, who was in the news this summer for taking a forceful stance against confederate flags in her community, said she is eager for the campaign. She will be taking an official leave of absence from her duties as mayor of Summerland and a board member of the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen. Should she be elected, she will step down permanently. 

She said the timing of the election feels appropriate. 

"If we were one or two months into the pandemic, it would feel weird," Boot said.

"But we are several months into the pandemic, and we are very lucky here in British Columbia that we have such an able public health officer, and an able Minister of Health ... I carry the same confidence in how they have handled the pandemic of how they have handled the pandemic over the past many months forward into the next many months, including the month of October when we campaign and the election will be held."

Boot says the three key issues she will be championing in the riding are all related to the pandemic: Safe healthcare, especially for seniors; safety for kids in school and daycare so that parents can be confident to stay in the work force; and action on climate change without negatively impacting the economy. 

The NDP and Liberals have recently been the clear frontrunners in the Penticton riding, with Ashton garnering 14,470 votes in the 2017 election ahead of NDP challenger Tarik Sayeed's 7,874. 

Boot and Ashton are the only two candidates who have announced their intention to run so far.