I am writing in response to the April 11 letter from JC Vallance, regarding Bill Bennett.
I hear over and over this argument that not using the BC Liberals name prominently on election ads somehow indicates that a Liberal MLA is not worthy of office. I fail to see how it is at all relevant.
As a parent of a youngster with PKU, I have been advocating to the government for better coverage of treatments since 2009. At the time, we lived in Burnaby and our NDP MLA wrote a letter to the Minister of Health on our behalf, but did nothing more.
Since moving to Sparwood, I have developed a vastly different relationship with my MLA. Mr. Bennett has met with me several times to hear my concerns, communicated with me by phone and email numerous times, voiced my concerns to Ministry of Health staff and was instrumental in getting me a meeting with Minister MacDiarmid. He has gone above and beyond my expectations and continues to fight for what my family needs. We still have work to do, but he has vowed to see it through to the end and I have no doubt that it will be easier to accomplish our goals with his assistance.
Mr. Bennett cares about the local community, understands how the Elk Valley relies on the mining community and works tirelessly on behalf of his constituents. We should vote for the individual who is going to represent us best and be most effective in advocating for our needs, and whether or not the BC Liberals are voted back in, I have no doubt that Mr. Bennett's experience will make him more influential in the next government than an inexperienced Ms. Blissett will have.
I'm not voting for the Liberals in the next election: I'm voting for Mr. Bennett because he cares about the area he lives in, and the people who live here, and he has far exceeded his 'obligation' in helping my family fight for what is right. I would vote for him whether he was a member of the Liberals, the Green Party or an Independent because he is a fantastic MLA.
Please, let's put party politics aside on May 14 and vote for the person who will represent us. And if you insist on voting for a party, don't forget how the NDP ran the B.C. economy into the ground last time they were in power, and how their leader Adrian Dix admitted to falsifying documents in an official RCMP investigation.
Nicole Pallone
Sparwood