British Columbians are once again heading to the polls on May 14, 2013. Here are some brief profiles on all the declared candidates running in each of Vancouver's 11 electoral ridings. The B.C. Liberal Party, NDP and B.C. Green Party have candidates running in every riding, while the B.C. Conservative Party have five. The Work Less Party, B.C. Libertarian Party and Platinum Party each have two candidates, while the Marijuana Party, Socreds, Communist Party, Your Political Party, B.C. First Party and B.C. Vision Party all have one apiece. Four people are running as independent candidates.
VANCOUVER-FAIRVIEW
LIBERAL: MARGARET MACDIARMID
Margaret MacDiarmid is the current Minister of Health, having previously served as Minister of Education and Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government. A family physician for more than two decades, she won her first seat in the legislature after defeating NDP MLA Jenn McGinn in 2009.
NDP: GEORGE HEYMAN
George Heyman, a longtime union leader and environmentalist, was the unexpected winner in an October nomination battle against Vision Vancouver city councillor Geoff Meggs. A former president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union, Heyman recently stepped down from his position as executive director of the Sierra Club of B.C. to run for office.
GREEN: MATTHEW PEDLEY
A licensed pilot, Matthew Pedley earned an electrical engineering degree from UBC and now works for BC Hydro helping to develop more energy efficient equipment.
VANCOUVER-FALSE CREEK
LIBERAL: SAM SULLIVAN
A former NPA mayor of Vancouver (2005-2008), Sam Sullivan narrowly beat former two-term Vancouver-Burrard MLA Lorne Mayencourt to represent the riding after incumbent Liberal MLA Mary McNeil chose not to run again. Sullivan is president of the Global Civic Policy Society and adjunct professor with the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
NDP: MATT TONER
MattToner is the head of a digital production studio in Gastown, and has taught classes at the Vancouver Film School, SFU's School of Interactive Arts and Technology and the Centre for Digital Media. The rookie politician was considered the underdog in a November nomination race he won against Vision Vancouver park board commissioner Constance Barnes.
GREEN: DANIEL TSEGHAY
Daniel Tseghay is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Georgia Straight, the Tyee, rabble.ca, the Toronto Star and THIS Magazine.
INDEPENDENT: IAN TOOTILL
Civic affairs watchdog and motorcycle parking proponent Ian Tootill is running as an independent after being fired as the Conservative candidate over indelicate Twitter comments.
B.C. FIRST: SAL VETRO
Sal Vetro is the sole Vancouver candidate for the B.C. First party, a new party born out of the grassroots fight to get rid of the HST two years ago. Vetro also ran in the 2001 provincial election for the now-defunct Unity Party.
YOUR POLITICAL PARTY: JAMES FILIPPELLI
James Filippelli is the founder and president of Your Political Party, whose platform platform calls for more transparency and accountability in government. He also ran in Port Moody ridings in the 2005 and 2009 elections.
VANCOUVER-FRASERVIEW
LIBERAL: SUZANNE ANTON
West Side resident Suzanne Anton, who lost the nomination bid to Andrew Wilkinson to be the new Liberal candidate for Vancouver-Quilchena, is taking another shot in this riding after the incumbent MLA chose not to run again. A lawyer and former NPA mayoral candidate, she has nine years of service in Vancouver as a councillor and park board commissioner.
NDP: GABRIEL YIU
Originally from Hong Kong, Gabriel Yiu is a small business owner and former journalist whose work has appeared in the Vancouver Sun, Business in Vancouver, World Journal and Ming Pao. Yiu ran unsuccessfully in the same riding in 2009 against Liberal Kash Heed, who was later fined $8,000 for overspending the Elections Act campaign limit and eventually resigned from his post as Solicitor General..
CONSERVATIVE: RAJIV PANDEY
Rajiv Pandey is a realtor for Royal Pacific Realty. Pandey had previously intended to run as a B.C. Vision candidate before jumping to the Conservatives.
GREEN: STUART MACKINNON
Stuart Mackinnon is a former Vancouver Park Board commissioner who represented the Green Party from 2008 to 2011. Mackinnon is also a governor of the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association, a board member of Axis Theatre and a teacher at Killarney secondary.
VANCOUVER-HASTINGS
LIBERAL: FATIMA SIDDIQUI
Fatima Siddiqui is the director of communications and customer relations for a bioscience firm. She has an MBA from Simon Fraser University, is a former volunteer on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and, since moving to Vancouver four years ago, has become involved with Leave Out Violence BC, a non-profit youth violence prevention organization.
NDP: SHANE SIMPSON
First elected in 2005, Shane Simpson served as the official opposition critic for the environment for four years, spent three years as the critic for housing, ICBC, the B.C. Lottery Corporation and the BC Liquor Distribution Branch, and is now both the critic for labour and the NDP caucus chair.
GREEN: BRENNAN WAUTERS
Brennan Wauters, a Green Party candidate for the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky riding in the 2011 federal election, holds a masters degree in communications from McGill University. He is active in a variety of community and non-profit organizations, including Federation of B.C. Youth in Care Network, Rainforest Action Network, and the Vancouver Communal Housing Network.
LIBERTARIAN: PHIL WEBB
Phil Webb is one of two B.C. Libertarian Party candidates running in Vancouver on a platform advocating civil liberties and private property rights, including drug legalization, ending government controls on economic activity and ending "coercive taxation."
SOCRED: CARROL WOOLSEY
Carrol Woolsey is the sole Vancouver candidate for the B.C. Social Credit Party, a party that once dominated the province for nearly four decades..
VANCOUVER-KENSINGTON
LIBERAL: GABBY KALAW
Political newcomer Gabby Kalaw holds a BA in political science from Acadia University and has worked in West Africa with the Canadian charity Journalists for Human Rights. Kalaw ran unsuccessfully for the Vancouver park board under the NPA banner in 2011.
NDP: MABLE ELMORE
A former Coast Mountain bus driver and the province's first MLA of Filipino descent, Mable Elmore was first elected in 2009 and is the current deputy finance critic and ICBC critic. She previously acted as the deputy critic for multiculturalism, child care and early learning.
CONSERVATIVE: RAJ GUPTA
Raj Gupta, a realtor, earned a diploma in mechanical engineering from India's Chandauli Polytechnic before becoming a Canadian citizen in 1979. Gupta had previously intended to run as a B.C. Vision candidate before jumping to the Conservatives.
GREEN: CHRIS FJELL
Chris Fjell has a doctorate in experimental medicine focused on computational approaches in immunology, infectious disease and drug discovery. Fjell currently works as a research scientist at UBC studying a group of critically ill patients.
VANCOUVER-KINGSWAY
LIBERAL: GURJIT DHILLON
Political newcomer Gurjit Dhillon, a recruitment coordinator for the RCMP, is the Liberal candidate taking on the leader of the NDP in his home riding. Dhillon is fluent in Punjabi and Hindi, and is a volunteer with SUCCESS and Vancouver Arts Umbrella.
NDP: ADRIAN DIX
After being first elected to the legislature in 2005, Adrian Dix served as the opposition critic for Children and Families and then served as the Health critic. He was voted in as the new party leader after Carole James was forced out in 2010. Dix served as chief of staff to former premier Glen Clark, a position he left after admitting falsifying documents to protect Clark from conflict-of-interest charges.
GREEN: GREGORY ESSAU
Downtown resident Gregory Esau, a carpenter specializing in custome homes, was asked personally by Green leader Jane Sterk to represent the party in the NDP leader's home riding.
VANCOUVER-LANGARA
LIBERAL: MOIRA STILWELL
Moira Stilwell, a radiologist by trade, is the current the Minister of Social Development and a former Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development and Minister of Regional Economic and Skills Development.
NDP: GEORGE CHOW
George Chow, a former two-term Vision Vancouver city councillor originally from Hong Kong, lost the NDP nomination for Vancouver-Fraserview to Gabriel Yiu in 2011. Chow was acclaimed the NDP candidate in this new riding where nearly half of residents are of Chinese descent.
CONSERVATIVE: GURJINDER BAINS
Gurjinder Bains, the director of a security guard company, has lived in B.C. for 41 years after emigrating from India.
GREEN: REGAN-HENG ZHANG
Regan-Heng Zhang is pursuing a PhD in medical research at the University of B.C. Fluent in Mandarian, Zhang is a founding member of UBC's Green Party club.
PLATINUM: ESPAVO SOZO
Espavo Sozo is the president of the Platinum Party, a single-issue party that wants the government to have more authority over the commercial sector.
VANCOUVER-MOUNT PLEASANT
LIBERAL: CELYNA SHERST
Celyna Sherst was born in the Philippines and moved to Canada in 1981. Sherst is a travel consultant and administrative management specialist with a BA in business administration. Volunteer experience includes past involvement with the Immigrant Services Society, the 411 Seniors Society and the Filipino Seniors Club of B.C.
NDP: JENNY KWAN
A former COPE city councilor, Jenny Kwan won her first seat in the legislature in 1996 and served as Minister of Municipal Affairs, Minister of Women's Equality and finally Minister of Community Development, Cooperatives and Volunteers under former premier Glen Clark. In 2001, she and Joy MacPhail were the sole NDP MLAs to keep their seats after the Liberals swept into power.
GREEN: BARINDER HANS
Born and raised in Abbotsford, Barinder Hans has a computer science degree from UBC and runs a company that provides IT support to small businesses.
MARIJUANA: WILLIAM AUSTIN
William Austin is the sole Vancouver candidate for the B.C. Marijuana Party. Founded by pot activist Marc Emery in 2000, the party announced it would exclusively endorse Green Party candidates after the 2009 election although it would still run two people in order to keep its official party status.
COMMUNIST: PETER MARCUS
Peter Marcus is running for a third time as the B.C. Communist Party's candidate for this riding. Marcus has also run four times for the Vancouver park board, including once as an NDP candidate.
INDEPENDENT JEREMY GUSTAFSON
Jeremy Gustafson on is a former casino pit boss who now works as a grip in the film industry and is a regular contributor to Vancouver Co-op Radio CFRO 102.7. FM.
VANCOUVER-POINT GREY
LIBERAL: CHRISTY CLARK
British Columbia's 35th premier, Christy Clark was sworn in nearly two years ago after winning the leadership race to replace Gordon Campbell. First elected to the legislature in 1996 as the MLA for Port Moody-Westwood, Clark served as deputy premier under Campbell from 2001 to 2005 before leaving provincial politics. She narrowly lost to Sam Sullivan to run as the NPA mayoral candidate in the 2005 civic election and went on to host a talk show on CKNW 980 AM. Clark returned to the legislature after winning a 2011 byelection in Campbell's former riding.
NDP: DAVID EBY
A human rights activist, lawyer and former executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, David Eby is running against Clark for a second time after narrowly losing the byelection to fill Gordon Campbell's seat two years ago. Eby is an adjunct professor of law at UBC and is the author of The Arrest Handbook: A Guide to Your Rights.
CONSERVATIVE: DUANE NICKULL
Duane Nickull is a computer software expert and technical writer who previously spent several years working for Adobe Systems. Volunteer work in the Point Grey community includes involvement with the Rotary Club's Bike-a-Thon, the Pacific Midwifery Practice Association and the Red Cross.
GREEN: FRANCOISE RAUNET
Francoise Raunet is a founding member of UBC's Green Party club. She holds a BA in psychology from Reed College, an MA in international studies from SFU and is studying to become a French immersion teacher at UBC.
WORK LESS: HOLLIS LINSCHOTEN
Hollis Linschoten is one of two Vancouver Work Less Party candidates running on a platform of shortening the work week to 32 hours, reducing the province's carbon footprint and promoting more cultural events
LIBERTARIAN: MARISA PALMER
Marisa Palmer is one of two B.C. Libertarian Party candidates running in Vancouver on a platform advocating civil liberties and private property rights, including drug legalization, ending government controls on economic activity and ending "coercive taxation."
PLATINUM: BERNARD YANKSON
Bernard Yankson is a B.C. Platinum Party candidate running on a platform that the government should have more authority over the commercial sector.
INDEPENDENT: WILLIAM GIBBENS
William Gibbens, an interdisciplinary artist with a BA in anthropology from UBC, is running as an independent candidate. Gibbens also ran in the riding's 2011 byelection.
VANCOUVER-QUILCHENA
LIBERAL: ANDREW WILKINSON
A former president of both the B.C. Liberal Party and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Andrew Wilkinson defeated former NPA councilor Suzanne Anton to replace retiring MLA Colin Hansen in this longtime Liberal stronghold riding. WIlkinson is both a licensed doctor and practising lawyer.
NDP: NICHOLAS SCAPILLATI
Nicholas Scapillati is the executive director of sustainable food non-profit group FarmFolk CityFolk and a former researcher for the David Suzuki Foundation. He has nearly two decades of experience of community engagement in the neighbourhood, primarily involving stream-cleaning efforts with the Musqueam First Nation.
CONSERVATIVE: BILL CLARKE
Bill Clarke is a former four-term Progressive Conservative party MP for the federal Vancouver Quadra riding. Clarke, 79, lost his seat in 1984 to John Turner and ran again in 1988 and 2000.
GREEN: DAMIAN KETTLEWELL
Damian Kettlewell is a two-time former Green Party candidate and a former deputy leader. He is also a member of the Burnaby Board of Trade Environmental Sustainability Committee, a former chair of the Rivershed Society of British Columbia and the founder of B.C. EcoEvents.
VANCOUVER-WEST END
LIBERAL: SCOTT HARRISON
Scott Harrison is the co-founder of a home renovation design company and has served as the party's riding president. He is currently on leave from his position as executive assistant to minister of forests, lands and natural resource operations Steve Thomson.
NDP: SPENCER CHANDRA HERBERT
At age 27, Spencer Chandra Herbert became the youngest MLA in the province's history after winning a 2008 byelection in the now-dissolved riding of Vancouver Burrard. A former COPE park board commissioner, Chandra Herbert is the NDP's critic on tourism, arts and culture.
GREEN: JODIE EMERY
A Green Party candidate for Vancouver-Fraserview in the 2009 provincial election, Jodie Emery runs the downtown Cannabis Culture Headquarters store and the online magazine cannabisculture.com. She is married to pot reform activist Marc Emery, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence in the U.S. for selling marijuana seeds over the Internet.
WORK LESS: MATHEW KAGIS
Mathew Kagis is one of two Work Less Party candidates running on a platform of shortening the work week to 32 hours, reducing the province's carbon footprint and promoting cultural events.
LIBERTARIAN: JOHN CLARKE
John Clarke is one of two B.C. Libertarian Party candidates running in Vancouver on a platform advocating civil liberties and private property rights.
INDEPENDENT: RON HERBERT
Ron Herbert is running as an independent after being fired from the Conservative party over ill-advised Twitter comments about Christy Clark.
