Affluent riding ripe for anti-tax movement

Oak Bay-Gordon Head offers a prime hunting ground for the Fight HST recall campaign because of its stable population, mild climate and large number of affluent retirees who seem ripe for an anti-tax Tea Party movement.

Here's a snapshot of this urban, seaside riding based on statistics from the 2006 Census:

Moneyed

The average family income here is $108,000 - well above the provincial average - so the harmonized sales tax makes a bigger impression on pocketbooks. The average home is worth about $210,000 more than the B.C. average. Even single moms earn about $11,000 more per year than the provincial average.

Deep roots

People move less often in these communities than elsewhere in B.C., which is critical to the recall campaign. Elections BC will only count signatures from people who were eligible to vote in this riding during the May 12, 2009 election. Canvassers will be armed with one of the most accurate voters' lists in B.C.

Where the palm trees grow

The area has one of the mildest winters in Canada, so December and January is not such a bad time to be a canvasser standing on a street corner or going door to door. Still, the riding has a significant number of snowbirds - affluent retirees who head south for the winter. Organizers want to capture that crowd before they fly away after Christmas.

Hand me that ballot

In last year's election, just half of eligible voters turned up at the polls provincewide. But Oak Bay-Gordon Head voters showed one of the strongest turnouts, with almost 67 per cent voting. Participation rates increase with advanced age and advanced education. On both scores, this riding is rich with active voters.