The next provincial election is months away but the candidate lineup is already forming in Sarnia-Lambton.

The riding is held by Bob Bailey, a Progressive Conservative MPP first elected in 2007 when he unseated Liberal cabinet minister Caroline Di Cocco.

Bailey was re-elected twice in elections that followed and nominated again in January by his party for the provincial election set for June.

Bailey said he talked it over with his wife and then decided there are ongoing issues and projects he would like to continue working on.

“There’s lots of things going on with industry and social services, the hospital expansion in Petrolia, and Lambton College,” he said.

Bailey added he would like to continue the “pretty successful” work being done by his constituency office.

“I’ve got a great staff and they’re working every day trying to solve people’s problems,” he said.

Bailey described himself as the “lone ranger” when he won his southwestern Ontario riding for the first time but his party has since come to dominate the region, although it has fallen short of winning power.

“We hear from a lot of people they would like to see a change in government, and we’re working to do that,” Bailey said.

Kevin Shaw, a high school math teacher and small business owner, is running for the nomination for the Green Party.

The married father of three sons teaches at Great Lakes Secondary School and developed software now being used by close to 20 high school athletic associations around Ontario.

The Green Party has a nomination meeting set for Sept. 29, 5 p.m., at Green’s Cafe on Christina Street in Sarnia, he said.

Shaw, who ran for the party in 2014 and finished fourth, said he’s the only candidate for the nomination, so far.

“Like a lot of people, I’m not satisfied with a lot of decisions being made at the provincial government level,” he said.

“I think that the Green Party has a lot of really good ideas that need some more airtime, and I’d like to help people think more about those things before they place their vote next June.”

Recently, the party formally organized a provincial riding association in Sarnia-Lambton and earlier this year it hosted a visit by party leader Mike Schreiner.

“I certainly feel more experienced and better prepared this time for the challenge of taking on the other status-quo parties,” Shaw said.

As well as political opponents, Shaw and Bailey are neighbours who live on the same street in Petrolia.

The NDP riding association in Sarnia-Lambton has a candidate search underway.

“We’ve spoken to quite a few people,” and several has expressed interest, said association president James Anger.

Brian White, a Sarnia city councillor, was the party’s candidate in 2014, finishing second.

A nomination meeting is expected sometime in the late fall, Anger said.

“I think people are ready for an alternative,” he said.

“I think they’ve had far too much of Liberal promises, and broken promises.”

NDP leader Andrea Horwath has visited the riding 15 times in the last four years and the local association has “raised a considerable amount of money,” Anger said.

“We’ve going to be more than prepared for the next election.”

The Liberal riding association also has a candidate search underway, according to Anne Marie Gillis, a member of its executive and the party’s candidate in 2014.

Gillis, who sits on Sarnia city and Lambton County councils, said she isn’t planning to seek the nomination.

“From an organizational point of view, we’re in very good shape,” Gillis said.

Southwestern Ontario is “a PC stronghold, no question,” she said.

But, Gillis pointed to “good things” the Liberal government has done for the region, including helping with funding for Lambton College’s expansion.

A date for a Liberal nomination meeting hasn’t been set.

pmorden@postmedia.com