Clovechok running for MLA spot

Invermere’s Doug Clovechok will be running for office in the next provincial elections, vying for the position of MLA for the Columbia River-Revelstoke riding.
On Tuesday, July 31st, Mr. Clovechok was announced by the B.C. Liberal Party as their candidate for the NDP-held riding.
It is Mr. Clovechok’s first foray into politics, a move he has been thinking about since shortly after becoming president of the local B.C. Liberal Riding Association in November 2010.
“After being riding association president for a little over a year, that’s when consideration started,” he said. “I’m a free enterpriser and see so much potential in this valley waiting to be tapped. It’s not just the economics, it’s the people. They need someone to listen to their wants, hopes and dreams.”
Mr. Clovechok, who manages the Invermere campus of the College of the Rockies, cites a love for serving the public as another key reason to run for the position, quoting Mahatma Ghandi’s well-known saying, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
If he is elected, Mr. Clovechok’s first goal will be to better unite communities spread across the riding’s large area, he said.
“It’s such a big area geographically that nobody really knows each other; the issues in Kimberley are disconnected from the issues in Revelstoke, and the issues here in the Columbia Valley.”
To counteract this, Mr. Clovechok proposes creating local boards serving the communities, which come together every year to establish long-term goals for the entire riding.
If elected, he would also like to establish offices across the area where residents can stop in and speak to someone about their concerns in person, as well as contact lines for those in remote areas.
An active presence on social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook will also be vital, he said.
“People have to feel like they have access to you … in fact, I had a good conversation last night with somebody online who’s been following me on Facebook who I wouldn’t have been able to sit down face-to-face with.”
Mr. Clovechok was born and raised in Calgary and has a background in education, working for the Calgary Board of Education and helping found the Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation.
Locally, he serves on the Columbia Valley Greenways Alliance Board of Directors and is a past-president of the Liberal riding association. He is also an adopted member of the Piikani Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
“One of the things I’ve already experienced is the multitude of issues here,” Mr. Clovechok said. “Being the MLA is not only the listening aspect; it’s demonstrating that you’re a do-er and can make things happen.
“I’m really excited and passionate about this … I’m looking forward to the next eight months and I’m confident, but certainly not arrogant about my chances.”
To learn more, go to www.dougclovechok.com.