The man who has led a highly political fight to stop the Highway 99 expansion from going through the Eagleridge Bluffs near Horseshoe Bay is seeking the Green Party nomination in West Vancouver-Garibaldi.
Dennis Perry announced this week he will challenge Bowen Island’s Silvaine Zimmerman and Squamish’s Lee White for the Green Party nomination. The nomination meeting will be held March 29 at 7 p.m. in the West Vancouver Memorial Library.
Joan McIntyre is the Liberal candidate in West Vancouver-Garibaldi. The NDP has yet to nominate a candidate for the May 17 provincial election.
Perry campaigned for years for the preservation of the South Chilcotin wilderness area. Last year he became president of the Coalition to Save Eagleridge Bluffs and has campaigned for a tunnel bypassing the bluffs and Horseshoe Bay, rather than the overland highway route. He has stepped down as coalition president to seek the Green Party nomination but will continue campaigning for the tunnel.
"As president of the coalition it has become painfully evident that our present government has no interest in working with this community," Perry said in a release.
"The Liberal tactics of dishonesty, heavy handedness and stonewalling on the tunnel are used because they think this riding will easily provide another caucus member. The crucial need for a strong voice to represent West Vancouver-Garibaldi in Victoria has led me into the provincial political arena. I am a green conservative at heart and the party that best exemplifies this philosophy is the Green Party. The Green Party is moderate and centrist, and that is what we need in British Columbia rather than the destructive swings between left and right."
A long-time resident of West Vancouver Perry recently retired after 35 years in the investment industry working for major investment banking organizations in Vancouver, Toronto and New York. Prior to retirement he was president of the pension fund management firm Connor, Clark & Lunn Arrowstreet Capital Ltd. He also served on the executive committee of the Investment Counsel Association of Canada from 2000 to 2002.
Green Party Communications Director Don Toffaletto was careful to highlight that Perry still had to be nominated to run for the Green Party but he was excited by his decision nonetheless.
"He’s not a one-issue person at all because he’s been focussed on the bluffs story but if you look at his background he’s been involved with environmental issues for years," said Toffaletto.
"We can’t get ahead of ourselves because we haven’t got a candidate picked yet, but I can tell you that we’re taking the riding very seriously and I believe we can elect Green members this time and get more independent voices in the legislature.
"And I’m really happy that Dennis is standing up and running."
