As of Jan. 30, two former District of Sechelt elected officials are looking to fill the seat to be vacated this year by Nicholas Simons, the five-term incumbent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Powell River- Sunshine Coast. The decision on his successor wiill be made in the upcoming provincial election, scheduled to be held Oct. 19 (it could be called for by the Premier earlier).
Chris Moore is BC United’s candidate
Realtor, businessman and single-term municipal councillor (2011 – 2014) Chris Moore has been declared as the riding's BC United party candidate.
Moore told Coast Reporter he was notified early last December that his bid to represent the party locally was successful. He said that two others had also been considering a run for the nomination, but that he was the only one to pursue a full application and be successfully vetted by the party's election readiness committee. His profile has been on BC United’s web page since early January. On Jan. 12, party leader Kevin Falcon posted on his Facebook page an announcement about Moore's selection, adding that “With extensive experience in both housing and public service, Chris is ready to create change and tackle the issues that matter most to British Columbians."
Moore said his involvement in politics started as a child accompanying his mother in campaign work in Winnipeg. As an adult, he worked at the riding association level on the Coast and in Whistler and in support of others in their runs for office, "The political blood has always been in me," he stated.
Now, putting together his own campaign team for his first run for provincial office, Moore reported that he has selected his organization's co-chair and is impressed by "the strong set of individuals who have stepped forward" to help. He said that team will be key in support of his goal of being a candidate that is accessible to all constituency voters.
Of particular interest for him is reaching out to younger voters. "I've got a whole pile of millennials in my family and it's interesting, the conversations around the dinner table, their concerns are different than say the average retiree," Moore noted. In his view, becoming an effective MLA will require an understanding of and the willingness to speak on behalf of a "meld and a mix" of Sunshine Coasters.
He said his prime motivation for taking the plunge into candidacy "is to be at the table in Victoria, not as a backbencher, not as someone relegated to the back corners, but as a player in the policy making for the province."
Darnelda Siegers seeks NDP's nomination
The mayor of Sechelt from 2018 to 2022, Darnelda Siegers, confirmed via a Jan. 24 email that she is seeking the nomination of the New Democratic Party (NDP) as its upcoming election candidate for the local riding. Via a follow-up email, she indicated that she is one of four or five individuals considering putting their names forward to be the local NDP candidate. Siegers told Coast Reporter that she anticipated being in "a bit of a race" to secure the nod to represent the current governing party in this riding.
Along with serving as a municipal mayor, Siegers' local political experience included time as chair of the Sunshine Coast Regional District in 2022 and 2023 after serving as that board’s vice-chair for three years. She was also a District of Sechelt councillor for two terms, between 2011 and 2018.
Other parties considering candidates
BC Conservative party spokesperson Angelo Isidorou told Coast Reporter via a Jan. 24 email “We are in the nomination process for this (Powell River – Sunshine Coast) riding and should have a candidate announced in the next month."
Spokesperson for the BC Green party Ellie Blackmore stated in an email that organization is not looking at announcing its candidate in the next few weeks.
Both organizations have some riding candidates identified on their websites.
Individuals with party endorsements and those who choose to run as independents can register with the province as election candidates. If the election is called for Oct. 19, the final day for a candidate to be nominated is Sept. 28, according to Elections BC’s website.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the BC Green Party was looking to announce its Powell River-Sunshine Coast candidate in February. The party is not planning to announce a candidate in the next few weeks. We regret the error.
