From naval officer to politician, Rosalyn Byrd is on a mission to right the ship and get BC back on course.
Byrd learned early in her 23-year career in the Royal Canadian Navy, working in tight quarters on the high seas, how to be a diplomatic taskmasker who got things done with efficiency and that’s the approach she plans to bring to her new job in Victoria now that the Conservative Party of BC candidate has been elected in Prince George-Valemount.
“When you’re a logistics officer on a ship it’s a huge job and it gives you a lot of organizational skills. There’s a huge diversification of roles and responsibility and I like organization and I like structure and I like relationships,” said the 54-year-old Byrd.
“One of the biggest things with logistics is communications, good communications can solve a huge number of problems.”
With 8,880 votes and all 23 ballot boxes counted, Byrd captured 55.44 per cent of the vote Saturday in Prince George-Valemount, defeating the BC NDP’s Clay Pountney (5,555, 34.68 per cent) and Gwen Johansson of the BC Green Party (1,582, 9.88 per cent).
“People want change, people are very frustrated with the things that are happening across the province and health care is a huge one,” said Byrd. “I’ve been listening and I think many people across this province don’t feel they’ve been listened to or heard for quite some time.
“Up here in Prince George, the issues that we’re having with crime and addiction and homelessness, people are tired of it and they want to see something done about it."
She has other issues to focus on, she added.
“I am very optimistic that this party can turn forestry around," she said. "We have a number of candidates that have forestry backgrounds (including Conservative leader John Rustad) and I’m quite excited about that being a sector we can open up, along with mining.”
With the Conservatives virtually tied with the incumbent NDP, trailing by just one seat 46-45 late into the evening, the success of her party climbing from just two per cent of the popular vote in last election in 2020, sweetened her win on Saturday.
“That is something I’m very excited about,” said Byrd. “The more people you have representing the North, the better it is for the North. We’re all looking forward to working as a team. I have 100 per cent confidence in John, he is the man for the job. He’s humble, he’s transparent, accountability is important to him, and he wants to work as a team with his MLAs.”
Byrd’s husband is a Prince George guy, Mike Miller, who works at Omineca Industrial as a millwright. He has two adult children based in Prince George.
She was born in Toronto but as the daughter of a research scientist she wasn’t there for long. The family moved frequently throughout her childhood, including a seven-year stint in New Zealand.
“My dad (Gordon) begged me not to run. He was terrified the NDP and others would run a smear or attack campaign and he didn’t want me impacted,” Byrd said. “I told him although I was apprehensive I thought it was important to put those concerns aside. I explained I was not happy about where our province and our country was headed and this was one way I could try and bring positive change.”
Byrd takes over the seat occupied for six terms by Shirley Bond, who chose not to run for re-election when Kevin Falcon folded BC United and pulled out of the race on Aug. 28. Her choice to retire left the Prince George-Valemount riding wide open.
“I have a lot of admiration for Shirley, she served this community for 23 years and as a veteran that means a lot to me,” said Byrd. “I wish her all the best in her future endeavours. I would love to have some guidance from her.
"She was very frustrated with the BC United decision and rightfully so, and so I’ve tried to be very respectful the way her career ended.”
