Telkwa Mayor Darcy Repen says he’s fed up with jaded politics and vows to bring a fresh alternative by running as an independent candidate for Stikine in the upcoming BC election.
“This infighting, this polarity between the NDP and the Liberals, is resulting in poor government…they’re not really working together to solve problems and resolve issues,” says Repen.
It will be a David v.s. Goliath type race, says Repen, as he’s starting his campaign from scratch against the Liberals and NDP in the riding.
He says frustrations with the province in trying to secure funding for a new water system in Telkwa has been a massive roadblock for him as mayor. Repen says with the two parties, it’s impossible to get anything done.
“We’re not paying our MLAs to think anymore, we’re just paying them to tow the party line. When you’re paying people a very good salary, and the expectation is they’re going to represent people, it’s pretty disappointing when you look at those voting records and realize how partisan that legislature is right now.”
Repen says he’ll be continuing his duties as mayor throughout the race, and will only step down as Mayor if he is voted in as the next MLA.
He’ll be running against Liberal Candidate Wanda Good and incumbent NDP MLA Doug Donaldson for the Stikine riding.