Nanaimo-Alberni
The Riding
With a total population of more than 120,000 people (based on 2001 data) and nearly 100,000 eligible voters, the electoral disitrct includes Nanaimo, Lantzville, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Port Alberni and Regional District of Nanaimo electoral areas E, F and G, as well as Alberni-Clayoquot electoral area E.
James Lunney of the Conservative Party of Canada has held the riding since 2000, winning in the last election in 2008 with 28,930 votes (46.7 per cent) over Zeni Maartman of the NDP, who garnered 19,680 ballots (31.8 per cent).
The Conservatives, NDP and Liberals have finished one, two and three respectively since 2004.
The Candidates
James Lunney
Lunney has held the riding for the Conservatives since 2000.
Last election, Lunney topped the polls by nearly 10,000 votes ahead of the NDP’s Zeni Maartman.
Lunney chairs the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group and is a member of the standing committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.
Zeni Maartman
This is Maartman’s second federal election as a candidate, after finishing a distant second to Lunney in 2008.
Maartman is chairwoman of Nanaimo’s social planning committee and active with the chamber of commerce.
She’s also a past-president of Tourism Nanaimo and a former Nanaimo school trustee.
Renée Miller
Miller is a criminal defence lawyer who has spent several years advocating for under-privileged, under-educated and disadvantaged citizens.
She graduated from the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law in 2005 and was called to the bar in B.C. in 2006. She also holds a bachelor of arts in English (1998) and a master of arts in English (2002).
Myron Jespersen
This is Jespersen’s first run as a federal candidate, after managing John Fryer’s campaign in 2008. He’s been active with the Green Party for three years and is CEO of the party’s riding association.
He is a director of the Alberni Environmental Coalition and a consultant to the Alberni Valley Stakeholders Initiative to End Homelessness.