Terrace Councillor Sarah Zimmerman first to announce bid for BC NDP candidacy for Skeena

Terrace City Councilor Sarah Zimmerman has announced that she will be throwing her hat in the ring for the BC NDP Nomination for Skeena, in advance of the fall provincial election.

CFTK-TV's Jaylene Matthews sat down with Councilor Zimmerman to hear the details.

Sarah: "As this election came upon us, it was a decision I made about five months ago and really started reaching out to people in the riding that I knew had been connected to the NDP for years and really trying to look at growing our membership a little bit and connecting with folks with the view to seek the nomination.. And here we are"

Jaylene: “And so what would you want to bring to the party and bring to the riding?”

Sarah: “Well, I think there's two things. One is this this part, this seeking the nomination. It's really important to note that the Democratic Party is rooted in democracy. So having members choose who the candidate will be is really important. As the first approved contestant to seek the nomination coming out, it gives me an opportunity to connect with her members on a really kind of meaningful and deep basis and find out what is important to them and really get a better understanding of the issues that are affecting people across our riding.

And then if I'm successful and do get voted by our members to become the candidate, I think that my background gives kind of a unique set of experience and breadth of experience across the writing that positions me uniquely to do a really good job as the MLA. So if you think, I've worked in industry, I've worked in the public sector, I've been an entrepreneur, I've sat on the board of directors for my Mountain Co-op and the B.C. Games Society.

So I have this kind of breadth of experience both across the riding but across different sectors. That gives me a really good understanding of what issues are affecting people across the riding. And so I'm really looking forward to being a loud and strong voice for Skeena and have that ability to kind of like, bring people together.

And that's been my goal since November, is really trying to grow our membership, which is growing and it's strong and it's full of like progressive, dedicated people who really want to see Skeena become an NDP riding again."

Jaylene: "And what would you say the big issues are?"

Sarah: "Well, I think affordability is probably the biggest issue that people are facing. You know, in the North, we're having a real hard time recruiting doctors and nurses for our medical facilities. And I know that the provincial government is working on recruitment plans. Northern Health is doing that. And so finding ways that we can support that and make sure that when we have this beautiful new hospital that's going to be open, which was an NDP initiative that finally funded it, that we also have really well qualified doctors that are going to be there when it opens up"

Jaylene: "Absolutely. Yeah. Is there anything else you wanted to add?"

Sarah: "I, I just think this is a real privilege. You know, being an elected official isn't always glamorous, but it is hard, important, tremendously impactful work. And I care a lot about the Skeena riding. I've spent 24 years here, been in Terrace as long as for half my life, and I really believe that we have an excellent chance of having an NDP MLA in this riding."