Whether you voted for him or not, Nicholas Simons has proven he has a stronghold of support in Powell River-Sunshine Coast riding. The New Democratic Party candidate ran away with this riding’s election, receiving more than double the votes of the other two main party candidates, Liberal Mathew Wilson and Green Kim Darwin.
Now in his fourth term as MLA in our riding, Simons is hoping his party forms government in some form after recounts and absentee ballots come in later in May.
If Simons finds himself in an opposition seat once again, he has made it clear that he will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of our riding to effect change. He knows this riding better than anyone else and has been relentless in advocacy work for his constituents.
One of the largest criticisms of Simons during his campaign was that by being an MLA who was not part of the sitting government he had less power to attain tangible results for this riding.
Simons has proven time and time again that nothing can stop him from doing what is best for Powell River-Sunshine Coast, and the past 12 years have clearly shown he is not willing to back down or stop fighting just because his government is not in power.
One can only imagine how much more Simons could accomplish if he wasn’t constantly fighting an uphill battle as opposition.
Hopefully, whatever new government is formed at the end of this month (or sooner) will be more receptive to Simons’ ideas and knowledge of the Powell River-Sunshine Coast riding. If it happens to be NDP, then Simons will become a prominent member of government, and rightly so. After all of his hard work, Simons deserves a cabinet position.
During the Powell River Chamber of Commerce all-candidates forum last month, there was a key moment where Simons let his emotions take over during question and answer period. This is the kind of MLA we need. A person with a large heart, wealth of knowledge and educational background to bring forward inventive ideas and initiatives to tackle problems with housing, transportation, health, education, infrastructure and so much more.
We need a fighter in Victoria. Last Tuesday night, we got one, again.
Jason Schreurs, publisher/editor
