Water board leader named NDP candidate for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream

A woman who spent her career fighting to protect and preserve the lakes and rivers in the Okanagan will have her name on the ballot for the fall provincial election.

The B.C. NDP named Anna Warwick Sears as the candidate for the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding.

Sears, the current executive director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB), said she believes well-funded public services are essential for people wanting to build and live good lives.

“I see the value of well-funded public services every day. We need a government who will invest, not one that will undermine our services with reckless cuts,” Sears said.

“John Rustad may believe in cutting, but David Eby believes in building. He and the whole BC NDP team are dedicated to investing in the services we rely on, making it easier to live a good life in Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream.”

The party pointed to a number of policies enacted in the past seven years to support people in the riding, the Central Okanagan, and the entire province, including the speculation tax; upgrading hospitals and hiring more doctors; eliminating MSP premiums; lowering ICBC rates; and hiring more police officers and giving them more power to address public drug use, repeat violent offenders, and organized crime.

Premier David Eby supported Sears’ candidacy, stating “[she] understands that people in Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream need a government that will invest in the services we rely on.”