Griffiths a bad choice for Vancouver-West End

Read this today about Arthur Griffiths seeking the BC Liberal nomination in the new riding of Vancouver-West End.  I can understand Griffiths thinking that a high profile riding in downtown Vancouver would be a great place to run, if he could win the riding that is.  In 2005 Loren Mayencourt won by a mere 11 votes in the old riding of Vancouver-Burrard.  The new West End riding is a little bit smaller and loses out on some of the voters from the eastside, which might help the Liberals.  I think that the new West End riding will still be a tough fight for the Liberals, and without a gay or lesbian candidate they could lose a lot of the gay support that Mayencourt still manager to hold onto.  I am not saying that Mayencourt was generally supported by the LGBT community, just that I think he was far more likely to get at least some gay support, whereas Griffiths will probably not be able to hold much of that support.

I hope that the NDP chooses a good candidate for Vancouver-West End.  The riding is definitely winnable, and I am sure that the NDP will look for a strong candidate, but I really hope that the candidate is a a gay, lesbian, or transgendered person.  There are not enough queer voices in Victoria, and I think that a representative from the historical gay neighbourhood in Vancouver and in BC as a whole would be a great advocate for LGBT rights and issues.  Mayencourt, although a gay man, failed in my view to do much to advance LGBT rights or issues in Victoria, at least in part because his party does not really care about the issues.  The NDP could possibly win the election in BC, if that happens a queer voice for Vancouver-West End would be hugely influential.  Even an NDP opposition would benefit from a queer voice, speaking for a diverse and very queer community.