Taylor Mayor Rob Fraser turned his back on the B.C. Liberals Wednesday, abandoning the party he supported as recently as last spring and announcing he will run as an independent in Peace River North in the May provincial election.
"We need an independent voice from the north in the B.C. legislature," Fraser told me shortly after he announced his candidacy. "The Liberals take it (the region) for granted."
Peace River North, the vast riding in the northeast that includes Fort St. John, Fort Nelson and Hudson's Hope as well as Taylor, has elected B.C. Liberals in every election since the party formed government 16 years ago.
When the Liberals' ill-starred two-term incumbent Pat Pimm announced his retirement last fall, Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman immediately declared her intention to seek the party nomination as his successor.
Fraser took out a Liberal membership in order to support her candidacy. The two mayors worked together to preserve a fair share of provincial oil and gas revenues for the region, a 2015 campaign that met with only mixed (and to some eyes disappointing) results.
Ackerman attracted support from other municipal leaders in the region as well. But despite the local government equivalent of star power, the Fort St. John mayor was beaten for the Liberal nomination by Dan Davies, a member of her own council.
In the wake of that disappointment, Fraser has now stepped up to challenge Davies directly in the coming provincial election.
A first-term mayor with a dozen years experience as a councillor, Fraser formerly worked in the oil and gas industry. He also ran his own company, a provider of training and equipment for workplace safety.
"I have always been an independent thinker," he said. "Our region is full of independent-minded people who have proven that when we come together we can develop unique solutions to many of our challenges."
He alluded to the region's independent proclivities during the interview, recalling Arthur Hadland who ran as an independent in Peace River North in the last two provincial elections. His best showing was in 2009, when he pulled 31 per cent of the popular vote, good enough for a second-place finish behind Pimm.
Hadland, a former director of the local regional district, is well known in the region as one of the most outspoken critics of the hydroelectric dam that B.C. Hydro is building at Site C on the Peace River. This time last year, he was arrested during a protest at the project.
Given the continuing controversy surrounding the project, I asked Fraser where he stands on the multibillion-dollar undertaking which is already under construction upstream from his municipality.
His answer was a study in caution. On the plus side, the mayor paid tribute to a project that is "helping out the region" with spending and jobs at a tough time for the oil and gas sector. "But as a process guy," he quickly added, "I don't like how the government got to the decision."
Fraser cited a B.C. Liberal decision to short-circuit the project approval process via the cabinet room, bypassing review by the independent B.C. Utilities Commission. He also condemns what he regards as B.C. Hydro's unforgiving approach toward protesters against a project that has divided the region as it has the province.
Fraser vows to press the province to show more regard for local concerns on environmental issues. He also thinks the region deserves a better economic deal. Asked for specifics, he referred me to the decline of the forest industry in Fort Nelson.
A decade ago, when the community was briefly honoured by industry professionals as B.C.'s forest capital, it had two mills, together employing 500 workers. Both closed in the wake of the 2008 crash in the U.S. housing market.
Today, according to a recent story by Jonny Wakefield in the Alaska Highway News, the remainder of the region's annual allowable cut either languishes unused or it is shipped out elsewhere.
Taylor expects he'll have to raise as much as $40,000 to run a viable challenge and intends to resign as mayor only if he wins the seat in the legislature. He's not the only independent in the race. Biologist Jeff Richert, who also opposes Site C, announced his intention to run last month.
The plethora of candidates raises speculation that the New Democrats might have a shot at winning on a vote-split, say by nominating Kathi Dickie, former chief of the Fort Nelson First Nation, who ran for them in the federal election.
I put the possibility to Liberal candidate Davies, who is currently on leave from teaching elementary school and driving a cement truck on the Site C project. Could ex-B.C. Liberal Fraser attract just enough support from the governing party to elect the NDP?
"It's a little too early to tell, but I don't believe so," said Fort
St. John Coun. Davies, who declined to be drawn into speculation about the motivations of the mayor of neighbouring Taylor.
"My focus will be on what I need to do to bring jobs and growth to the community.
"I wish him luck," he added, though presumably not to the degree that on May 9, Fraser is elected as independent MLA for Peace River North.
