Image: Dan Coulter via Facebook / Chilliwack MLAs Dan Coulter and Kelli Paddon are pictured with dozens of their supporters, including Willow Reichelt and her husband, Christopher Hunt, during a joint campaign grand opening event Saturday at 4-46245 Yale Road in downtown Chilliwack.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Provincial election

Chilliwack MLAs hold grand opening event to kick off campaign season

Sep 16, 2024 | 11:11 AM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack MLAs Dan Coulter and Kelli Paddon welcomed dozens of people to their new campaign office over the weekend, just days before the writ is expected to drop for this year’s provincial election.

The joint grand opening event on Saturday (Sept. 14) featured a visit from MLA Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General for B.C.

“We had a fantastic crowd come out to the joint Chilliwack North and Chilliwack-Cultus Lake B.C. NDP campaign office today!” Coulter wrote on Facebook over the weekend. “Thank you to Mike Farnworth for coming out to speak to the people of Chilliwack. We always enjoy having you here. Thank you to everyone for coming out to show your support—we can’t do this without you!”

Their campaign office is located at 4-46245 Yale Road, near Domino’s Pizza, in dowtown Chilliwack.

Coulter is a former Chilliwack school board trustee who was elected in October 2020 to represent the Chilliwack riding. He has served as Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit. Paddon was also elected in October 2020 to represent Chilliwack-Kent. She has served as Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity.

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Earlier this month, the Conservative Party of B.C. held a similar grand opening event in which nearly 100 people attended an open house with hot dogs and drinks on Saturday, September 7 at 103-7670 Vedder Road. Candidates Heather Maahs from Chilliwack North and Á’a:líya (A’aliya) Warbus from Chilliwack-Cultus Lake had invited the community to join them for an open house.

Maahs has served as a Chilliwack school board trustee since 2008, getting re-elected multiple times. According to a news release from the Conservative Party of B.C., Maahs has consistently pressed for foundational reading skills and literacy in her 15 years on the Chilliwack school board, while advocating for parental rights to ensure a collaborative and supportive educational environment.

Warbus is the daughter of former B.C. Lieutenant Governor Steven Lewis Point and is described on the Conservative party’s website as a person with deep family roots in politics and activism. Warbus is a mother of three and has a Fine Arts Masters in film production. She has worked professionally as the Director of Cultural Communications at the Stó:lō Xwexwilmexw Government. She has also worked as a professor at Capilano College in the Indigenous Digital Film department.

Notably, the B.C. Green Party has yet to nominate a candidate in either Chilliwack riding.