Keith Pomeroy readily admits he’s not a born politician. Although the cost of living has been bothering him for a long time, the Grand Forks resident says he would have been happy to stay in the background and vote for the BC Conservatives.
But he feels the Conservatives have changed too much for his liking, exemplified by the way leader Kerry-Lynn Findlay was pushed out last month. So he has put his name forward in Boundary-Similkameen for OneBC, led by Dallas Brodie.
“I can no longer sit back and watch the free fall decline of this province without getting involved,” Pomeroy said. “They’re right at the end of the rope. You drive by the food bank in Grand Forks and there’s [people on] both sides of the street for a block. People can’t even afford food. I don’t know how they’re I don’t know how they’re doing it.
“Voting for me wasn’t enough. I had to get involved.”
Pomeroy had a 35-year career in the oil and gas industry that took him all over the world. He moved to Grand Forks in June 2021 and now runs a small ranch, a gravel pit, and a civil earthworks construction company.
He grew up on a small farm in the Peace Country but had been looking to move for a few years. Although he had passed through Grand Forks many times, he had never stopped there until coming five yeares ago to look at a property, which he bought on the spot.
He said BC is a “land of plenty” so he finds it distressing that people are “pushed to the absolute limits” and struggling to get by. He is also concerned that investment capital is fleeing the province because “the goalposts keep getting moved.”
“There are cheaper, more stable places in the world to do business, where [investors] know where they’re going to get a return,” Pomeroy said. “It takes 16 years to get a mine license in BC. It takes over a year to get a well license to drill an oil or gas well. It takes over a year to get a cut block approved.”
While he is not a logger himself, Pomeroy said he has asked loggers what the stumbling block is and has been told that it regulatory.
He also wants to make sure the community feels safe. Grand Forks is one of the safest communities he has ever lived in, he said, and he hopes to keep it that way. He applauds the work of the city’s bylaw enforcement officers.
Pomeroy also thinks people who work in the bush should be empowered to help respond to wildfires, not just trained firefighters. He said professional crews do an excellent job, but loggers, landowners, farmers, and ranchers should not be prevented from tackling fires, especially when they already have equipment in place.
Finally, Pomeroy said if elected he would take his cues from his constituents rather than his party, although he was impressed that Brodie canvassed her candidates for their opinions. “I was really surprised and pleased she took that into account. The policy they put forward was a reflection of people within the party.”
Pomeroy said OneBC is championing “grassroots conservative ideas” and billing itself “the only true conservative choice” in a political landscape otherwise made up of parties that are more to the centre or left.
The other candidates are incumbent Donegal Wilson of the BC Conservatives and New Democrat Roly Russell, who previously held the riding.
