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Bruce Banman to seek Abbotsford South BC Liberal nomination

Former Abbotsford mayor was elected as a councillor last fall
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Abbotsford councillor Bruce Banman is seeking the BC Liberal nomination in the Abbotsford South riding currently held by Darryl Plecas.

Banman, who was mayor of Abbotsford for three years between 2011 and 2014, announced his intentions in a press release Thursday morning.

The announcement comes less than a year after Banman finished second among council candidates in last fall’s municipal election.

Thursday’s press release alludes to Banman’s recent election.

“It is abundantly apparent that many of the largest issues facing the city today cannot be solved at a municipal level,” the release says. “Mr. Banman seeks to bring his strategic vision to Victoria to be an advocate for Abbotsford, fighting for agricultural issues, highway expansion, affordable housing, and other important needs.”

Banman said he decided to run after being asked multiple times to do so by people in the community.

A date for the nomination vote has not been set, but Banman says that if he is chosen as a candidate, he would remain on council until an election is called, at which point council and mayor would determine how to proceed. He noted a similar scenario occurred when then-councillor Simon Gibson ran for the BC Liberals in 2013. The next provincial election isn’t set for two years, although that could change if the agreement between the Greens and the NDP falls apart, or if either of those parties lose a member.

Banman won’t be seeking the nomination unopposed. Markus Delves, until recently the president of the AbbotsfordFirst electoral organization, announced he was seeking the nomination last month.

The riding is currently held by Darryl Plecas, who was booted from the BC Liberals after accepting an offer by the NDP to serve as Speaker of the legislature. Plecas is currently sitting as an independent. Abbotsford’s two other MLAs, Michael de Jong and Simon Gibson, are BC Liberals.

Watch for more.

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