EDITORIAL – Liberals first out of the gate as gun sounds to officially start B.C. election horse race

An ArmchairMayor editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

AND THEY’RE OFF!

B.C. Liberals are first through the gate, taking a lead with the announcement of their platform Monday, 24 hours before the election was scheduled to officially start.

The Liberals, said Premier Christy Clark, will keep B.C. strong by creating jobs, controlling spending, and cutting taxes for the middle class.

The platform includes $150 million in new spending commitments, “in sharp contrast with the B.C. NDP and Green Party schemes for billions in reckless spending, higher taxes, and bigger government.”

The NDP, in second place, shrugged off the Liberals’ platform, calling it “repackaged promises” and insisting it means costs for families will continue to skyrocket.

And they made a move up the inside with a letter from Adrian Dix to B.C. Ombudsperson Jay Chalke claiming Clark appeared to contradict herself on how much she knew about the health-researcher firings, and asking him to have a talk with her.

But the Liberals fended off the challenge with a claim of their own that a newly released audio has NDP leader John Horgan saying municipal leaders in B.C. are “cowardly.”

Then the NDP came charging back with a promise to freeze B.C. Hydro rates, which will likely gain the party some ground, given how unpopular those rising rates are.

And Horgan says the NDP will roll back a tax break to the top two per cent of wage earners. He could get some traction when he unveils the NDP’s own platform sometime this week.

Meanwhile, the Greens are biding their time back in third place, but a new poll shows leader Andrew Weaver has passed Clark in popularity, sitting just behind Horgan.

Weaver is hoping voters will be so turned off by both the Liberals and New Democrats that the Greens will make a break-through in the home stretch.

This is going to be a very interesting horse race for the next 28 days.

mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca