Cariboo North Independent candidate Bob Simpson opened a campaign office at the 150 Mile Centre Friday.
“I plan to be here every Friday during the campaign from 3 to 6 p.m. if people want to come in and have a face-to-face discussion,” Simpson said.
He also plans to be in the region more often, depending on events, so having a campaign office in the south end will give him a place to meet.
Policy documents line the campaign office counter outlining his policy ideas.
“Everybody asks if I have a platform, and my response is platforms are just promissory notes from political parties, they’re not policies, they’re not principles,” Simpson said.
In response to each of the forums he’s attended or will attend, and the major issues, he writes down what he’s done already, or what he would take to Victoria as “real agenda” items.
“We’ve done one on education, one on agriculture, on the environment and I’m writing one for forestry right now.”
Around 6,000 Cariboo North voters reside in Williams Lake, Horsefly, 150 Mile, Big Lake, Sugar Cane, Miocene, 141 Mile and Soda Creek.
That represents about a fourth of the entire riding’s voters, and Simpson said traditionally the rate of voting is high amongst those 6,000 voters.
One of the fun things in his campaign, he noted, is that the signs and ads were all produced locally and every donation will support local businesses.
He also said he’s happy to be able to give people in Cariboo North an alternative on the ballot and the chance to send a message to Victoria that they want a change in the democratic process.
“As an Independent, I don’t have to worry about what the party leaders say on the campaign trail either,” he said.