KAMLOOPS - Voting day in the B.C election is weeks away, but Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell appeared tonight to score a minor win in this interior city considered a bellwether in winning power in Victoria.
Mr. Campbell outdrew NDP Leader Carole James as both held meetings to make the case for being the next premier.
At least 200 people showed up for a rally held by Mr. Campbell to bolster the cause of the party's two candidates in the Kamloops area. Beyond the supporters were about 30 paramedics protesting the lack of a mediator in their labour dispute with the province.
By comparison, a group of about 60 people were on hand for a town-hall meeting held by Ms. James at a community centre shortly before Mr. Campbell's gathering.
Ms. James took it in stride. She was asked about her turnout before numbers were in on the Campbell gathering.
“This was billed as a town-hall meeting - a chance for people to drop by; pulled together for the first couple of days of the campaign,” Ms. James said following the gathering in which she was politely asked about such issues as raw-log exports, programs for special-needs children, and bridging the ideological gap of B.C politics.
“We'll be back through Kamloops,” she said. “You will see rallies and other events. This was a chance to talk to people; to hear about the pressures they were facing. It wasn't a time for me to give a speech and do a rally.”
Asked about how the meeting was promoted, Ms. James mentioned Facebook and noted it was not advertised in a newspaper.
