(Opinion) Bear Flat Dispatch: A ‘hostile takeover’ of municipal elections

BEAR FLAT, B.C. — The Conservative Electors Association registered in August as a local elector organization in 15 communities, including Fort St. John, and has since opened applications for candidates interested in running for mayor and council in the October 2026 election. 

It claims that Conservative mayors and councillors will keep our streets safe, lower taxes and always put families first, with no details about how that will be achieved.

Neither is there any indication on who the true decision-makers would then be.  Would it be these local folks that are elected, or others? Would there be ‘whipped’ votes in council?

As reported by Energeticcity.ca in August, Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy has voiced concerns about the presence of political parties in municipal communities, including Fort St. John, arguing it could “undermine the independence of our municipalities” and turn local government into an “extension of provincial party politics.” 

I am impressed that Kealy said that, and I very much agree. I suppose having now experienced the liberating freedom of being an independent after that Conservative Party of B.C. experience has given him some valuable insight. 

The Conservative Electors Association president David Denhoff said the group is also reaching out to incumbent mayors and councillors in jurisdictions where it is already registered. I find that very disturbing.

It is easy to imagine where incumbents could feel pressured to join the party to avoid facing a party-sponsored candidate in the next election.

This region is a Conservative stronghold politically, and there is an old joke that the Conservatives could run a fence post for a candidate and still win.  Any candidate left out from that Conservative umbrella could face challenges getting elected, no matter how qualified they may be for the job.

I am encouraged by the recent Energeticcity.ca article where the locals spoke out strongly against this initiative. I sincerely hope those who are considering running in our upcoming municipal election view this scheme for what it really is: a hostile takeover of municipal elections.

I hope all Fort St. John candidates campaign on saying no to any party affiliation. Party politics tend to be divisive, and we don’t need that at a local level.

I can well imagine that should this nonsense get a foot in the door, there will be no going back.  Furthermore, it is said that ‘nature abhors a void’, and it is likely that left-leaning party affiliations will soon join this race to the bottom in many locations should this bad idea take hold.