Former Vancouver city councillor Suzanne Anton to run as B.C. Liberals candidate

Former Vancouver city councillor and Parks Board commissioner Suzanne Anton will run as the B.C. Liberals candidate for Vancouver-Fraserview.

The party made the announcement on Tuesday, three weeks after Ms. Anton lost her first bid for a nomination to lawyer Andrew Wilkinson in the riding of Vancouver-Quilchena.

"The next election is critical for B.C.'s future," Ms. Anton said in a news release issued Tuesday. "Today's B.C. Liberals have balanced the budget and have a plan focused on growing B.C.'s economy."

Herb Dhaliwal, who represented the Fairview area at the federal level for 11 years, will serve as honorary chair of her campaign.

Ms. Anton will replace current Liberal MLA Kash Heed, who will not be running in the May 14 election, and face NDP candidate Gabriel Yiu, an outspoken journalist and political commentator. Mr. Yiu lost to Mr. Heed by 748 votes in the 2009 general election.

Ms. Anton, also a former Crown prosecutor, served as a Parks Board commissioner from 2002 to 2005 and an NPA city councillor from 2005 to 2011. That year, she ran as a mayoral candidate in the civic election and lost to incumbent Gregor Robertson.