B.C. Greens choose local engineer as Kelowna West byelection candidate

Robert Stupka, a professional engineer and house designer, has been announced as the Kelowna West MLA candidate for the B.C. Green Party. Image Credit: Submitted

December 04, 2017 - 11:34 AM

WEST KELOWNA – The B.C. Green Party has announced their candidate for the upcoming Kelowna West byelection.

Robert Stupka, a professional engineer and house designer, says West Kelowna’s potential is what brought him to the area and inspired him to run for MLA after Christy Clark resigned this past summer.

“In the face of growing challenges like congestion, high housing costs, and an opioid epidemic, maintaining what we value requires listening to community needs, pragmatic solutions, and a provincial representative that can enable supportive action,” he says in a media release. “I want to find solutions to these challenges and I have what it takes to listen and to act.”

Stupka says he chose the Green Party because they are “incredibly effective in holding government to account and implementing policy objectives well beyond their bench weight.”

"They have elevated debate with evidence, not politics," he says. "They are the only party that can be trusted to bring back economic, social and environmental balance to BC. That’s what motivated me to run as the B.C. Green candidate in the Kelowna West byelection.”

Leader of the B.C. Green Party Andrew Weaver calls Stupka an exceptional candidate driven by a vision of sustainability and leadership.

“He is keen to share his passion for building the economy of the 21st century and strong evidence-based policy for British Columbia. As a professional engineer, he is keenly aware of how new technologies and a creative and innovative approach to policy development can turn the most daunting challenges into our greatest opportunities,” he says.

He will run against former B.C. Liberal MLA Ben Stewart and the B.C. NDP's Shelley Cook.

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