BC United MLAs Tom Shypitka, Mike Bernier to run as independents

Two BC United MLAs have announced their intentions to run as independents in the provincial election in as many days, following the dissolution of the party last week.

The MLA for Peace River South, Mike Bernier, took to social media Tuesday to express his intentions.

“I will not let John Rustad and Kevin Falcon decide in a boardroom in Vancouver who they think is the best person to represent you in this region,” said Bernier.

“I got into politics to fight for the peace region. That’s something I’m always going to do, so I hope to continue as your MLA this fall after the election.”

The BC United MLA for Kootenay East, Tom Shypitka, announced that he will run as an independent in a Facebook Live video on Wednesday.

At first, Shypitka says he was having conversations with the BC Conservatives about running with them, but claims the party wanted him to run in the Columbia River-Revelstoke riding rather than his own.

“For me to take the seat here in Kootenay [East] as a Conservative candidate, that would mean that the current Conservative candidate would have to move over to Columbia River-Revelstoke,” he explained.

Shypitka claims that would not have been a big “jump” for BC Conservatives candidate Pete Davis, who he says has an address in the riding.

“I thought that would have been a perfect collaboration. I would have walked hand in hand with him and worked together, but that didn’t happen,” said Shypitka. 

“So now we’re in a situation now where we’ve got two conservative candidates, essentially, running for an MLA position.”

He says he recognizes that his constituents may be hesitant to vote for him, but he claims an independent may “hold the balance of power.”

He says he also began to identify his discomfort with the BC Conservatives as a party.

“We don’t really know who the BC Conservatives are. I know some good people on there, but [they’ve] got 94 candidates that are coming up. [They’ve] got a leader that’s only been less than a year in… I don’t know what that’s going to look like,” said Shyptika. 

“An independent can sit back and examine the situation.”

Shyptika says he doesn’t believe he will be splitting the vote. He implied that someone else may be responsible for splitting the vote in the Kooteney East riding.

“I think the argument could be made on the other person or party is splitting the vote, when they had an opportunity to do the right thing and take [the Columbia River-Revelstoke] riding,” he said.

For the Oct. 19 election, Shypitka says he encourages voters to look closely at candidate platforms rather than vote with party affiliation.