NDP Leader John Horgan shakes hands with Scott Elliott over the weekend – Facebook

Quesnel, B.C. – A Quesnel city councilor is hoping to make the jump from municipal to provincial politics.

Scott Elliott – just over half way through his second term as councillor – says he’s been acclaimed the NDP’s candidate in Cariboo North.

“I think other people were interested in the race but as it turns out I will be acclaimed on Feb. 12 and I’m excited to sit down with everybody and get on the ground and really get going.”

Aside from his council duties, Elliott works at the Government Liquor store in town, his place of employment since moving to Quesnel nearly 10 years ago, from the Sunshine Coast.

“My wife and I were coming up here forever to camp and fish and we just loved the area and an opportunity arose to move here and we just jumped at it.”

Liberal MLA Coralee Oakes was first elected to the legislature in May, 2013. Results courtesy Elections BC

So, who exactly is Scott Elliott?

“I have a passion to help people. From an early age, I started volunteering. At the age of 12 as a minor hockey referee,” he says.

“I’ve worked with at-risk youth, many different youth organizations and I feel the need to help and to give back to wherever I live.”

Elliott says he’s running because he doesn’t believe the current Liberal MLA Coralee Oakes, also the minister of small business and red-tape reduction and a former Quesnel city councillor, has been engaged enough in the community.

“If I was elected MLA, the first thing I would do is go into City Hall, sit down with the mayor and council, the elected officials, staff and say ‘what do you need? What can I do to help in Victoria?’ In the last four years, we have not had our MLA sit down at our table once. And I would just do it differently.”

So far Elliott and Oakes are the only candidates to put their names forward in the riding.

In 2013, Oakes defeated former two-time incumbent MLA Bob Simpson to win the riding (Simpson was elected twice as an NDP MLA but was kicked out of the NDP caucus in 2010 and ran as an independent in 2013).

The provincial election is scheduled for May 9, 2017.