The political starting gates for the great B.C. stakes flew open yesterday with 14 runners vying for three spots in Richmond's winner's enclosure on May 14.
In what has been the sleepiest of electoral hollows in recent provincial elections - due mainly to embarrassingly poor voter turnout and to Liberal dominance - at least two of the city's three ridings are far from the fait accomplis of the past.
Veteran Liberal Linda Reid is fully expected to canter to her sixth campaign in a row in Richmond-East. However, the formerly safe seats of Richmond-Steveston and Richmond Centre are very much up for grabs.
Despite neither living in Richmond, two Asian candidates, look set to go toe-to-toe for the Liberals and NDP in a potentially head-bobbing finish to Richmond-Centre.
And further south, the Liberal's incumbent, John Yap, will have to work harder than he's ever done to maintain his position as MLA for Steveston after an eventful March which saw him implicated as part of his party's "Ethnicgate" voter scandal, which forced him to step down as a Cabinet minister.
He faces some credible challenges this time in the shape of the BC Tories' Carol Day - a former school trustee and anti-jet fuel campaigner - and the NDP's former Mountie Scott Stewart.
Over the next four weeks, the News will be shining the spotlight on each riding and their candidates in a bid to help the people of Richmond decide who should represent them in Victoria for the next four years.
