Business savvy with a green heart is the Green Party's plan of attack for the May 17 provincial election.
Party leaders say they are poised and ready after acclaiming Dennis Perry as the Green Party candidate for the West Vancouver-Garibaldi riding Tuesday night (March 29) and naming him deputy leader of the Green Party.
"My business background of 35 years in investment and pension business is something Green candidates haven't had in the past," Perry said. "I think it will broaden the constituency of people who will vote Green.
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Green is the philosophy of the future working world with respect to environment and sustainability If I can drag more businesspeople to this route, we will hasten what I see as an inevitability."
After Perry announced his candidacy in the West Vancouver-Garibaldi riding, candidates Silvaine Zimmerman of Bowen Island and Lee White of Squamish withdrew, throwing their support behind Perry.
"He's a very dynamic personality," White said in a brief interview with The Chief Thursday. "It's pretty exciting."
Perry has received a lot of media attention during his time as president of the Coalition to Save Eagleridge Bluffs, which is seeking a tunnel instead of an overland route at the southern end of the Sea to Sky Highway.
Perry has stepped down from the coalition to dedicate his time to the campaign.
After working for major investment banking organizations in Vancouver, Toronto and New York, he was president of a pension fund management firm and served on the executive committee of the Investment Counsel Association of Canada.
He has also sat on the boards of the Nature Trust of B.C., the Southern Chilcotin Mountains Wilderness Society and Ecotrust Canada.
Perry also played a large role in the District of West Vancouver's decision to preserve the Seaview Walk for community recreation use.
"With my business background [I can address] a balanced budget and low debt and my non-profit work has made me conscious of social issues, health and safety - areas that have certainly suffered under the current government," said Perry.
Perry said he has never been involved in the political world before and only recently became a member of the Green Party.
"We need a strong voice," Perry said of the West Vancouver-Garibaldi riding. "I've never had a great interest in politicians. I was always kicking their butts for a lot of years, but there is this huge void out there and I couldn't stand it any longer. I wanted to step in and fill that void."
Adriane Carr, leader of the Green Party of B.C., said she is thrilled with Perry's candidacy.
"I really believe Powell River and West Vancouver-Garibaldi are winnable ridings for the Green Party," she said.
"We need a pit bull on the sustainability for the 2010 Games and Dennis plans to be that I believe we will attract voters who never thought of voting Green. Dennis is a great example of strength on sustainability and the economy."
Perry said he aims to give the riding a more powerful voice in government and promises to be "transparent, honest, communicative and available to constituents".
"It is part of the evolution of change," he said. "The challenge going forward with the Green Party is to convince [people] we are a centrist party with a big green heart. We are not going to be the government in this election, but electing some MLAs would be a great step forward."
West Vancouver businesswoman Joan McIntyre, a professional pollster and long-time B.C. Liberal Party official, was nominated by the Liberals in December.
The West Vancouver-Garibaldi NDP Riding Association has scheduled a nomination meeting for Sunday, April 17, at 2 p.m. at the Sea to Sky Hotel in Squamish.
-with files from Tim Shoults, The Chief
