Tamara Taggart seeks federal Liberal nomination in Vancouver Kingsway
Posted December 11, 2018 9:00 am.
Last Updated December 11, 2018 9:15 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – She’s been well-known in media for almost two decades. Now, former TV news anchor Tamara Taggart is trying to start a career in politics.
“I have decided that I am seeking the nomination for the Liberal Party of Canada for Vancouver Kingsway,” Taggart tells NEWS 1130.
“I have a voice and I like to use it for good. I think that this is a way for me to make a positive difference.”
Taggart was a co-anchor for CTV News at Six from January, 2011 until she was let go in April, 2018. Before that, she spent nine years as a weather presenter with the station.
Taggart says over the last eight months, several people have suggested she step into the political arena. “I’ve said no. Then, some people in the Vancouver Kingsway area reached out to me and this … made sense to me.”
She says the issues in Vancouver Kingsway that are most important to her include affordability and livability.
“People with disabilities is always something that’s going to be important to me,” she added. “People that are vulnerable and don’t have a voice.”
Taggart is known for her charity work and being open about having a child with a disability. She adds women’s health and gender parity are also issues she believes need to be in the forefront.
She has also been outspoken on social media, commenting on issues such as SOGI 1 2 3 and improving conditions in schools.
The current MP for Vancouver Kingsway is the NDP’s Don Davies.
“I haven’t spoken to him. I actually have never met him before,” Taggart said, adding she lived in the riding until the last federal election.
“Now, I’m out of the riding by a block. I think it’s moved by about a block and a half. So, my family’s life is in the riding — we still do everything in the riding — but we technically live a block and a half away.”
A well-known name and face in the Vancouver area, Taggart admits it will be quite a shift from media to politics. “I want to do something big and exciting and challenging.”
But she doesn’t think her celebrity status will automatically grant her the nomination or an election next year.
“I can’t assume that everybody has a TV. There’s lots of people who don’t know who I am … It’s going to come down to working hard, talking to people, and knocking on doors.”
– With files from Marcella Bernardo
