iN VIDEO: Why Okanagan Conservative candidates remain a mystery

It’s been an election quite unlike any other in the Okanagan, as three days before candidates likely to be elected to represent the area, largely remain a mystery to voters. The B.C. Conservatives are expected to handily win the ridings of Kelowna-Centre and Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream, yet candidates Kristina Loewen and Tara Armstrong have refused media interviews attend democratic forums so the public can learn more about them. Macklin McCall for the West Kelowna-Peachland riding has been slightly more accessible, attending one forum, but not by much. All three candidates have repeatedly refused every media request for interview since March, when Loewen spoke to Kelowna Now https://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/news/news/Kelowna/VIDEO_Conservative_candidate_expects_a_tough_campaign_in_Kelowna_Centre/#fs_141538 .  They have also been elusive to our efforts to reach them. Loewen has no apparent campaign office, nor phone number and relies on email addresses to communicate. She has instead been knocking on doors to speak with voters. With few alternatives to meet and question the prospective new MLA, we knocked on her door Wednesday morning. Her husband, Andrew, said Loewen was home but refused to speak with us. He couldn't offer any time she might make herself available. Here’s how that went. Armstrong has been more difficult to track down. There appears to be little indication she actually lives in the riding. Her LinkedIn page suggests Vancouver is her home. Google searches show no trace of her nor her husband in the Okanagan, other than campaigning. We would ask her directly but we are not yet aware of how to find her or reach her. Anonymous tips can be made through our email. mailto:news@infonews.ca The other candidate in the area is Gavin Dew for Kelowna-Mission, a parachute candidate from the Lower Mainland in August, resulting in very little connection from at least two of the likely MLAs. Reporters have been trying to get clarification from Loewen on some of her past comments on social media, much of which has been posted to social media, particularly Reddit. She compared antivaxxers to Holocaust-era Jews, showed her support for the People’s Party of Canada, appears to believe in a number of conspiracy theories including about Bill Gates, made sarcastic comments about science (“Oh science again. Great.”), called Dawn dish soap “poison”, and seems to think the essential oils she sells for a multilevel marketing company is medicine. A Castanet reader https://www.castanet.net/news/Letters/503348/Disagrees-with-candidate alleges that Loewen blames Sexual Orientation and Gender Inclusion for pushing students to be transgender “en masse”, thought books in school libraries violate the criminal code and believes kids shouldn’t learn about sex until they’re adults. The lack of transparency or accountability hasn’t gone unnoticed. Few reporters can recall an election where a presumptive MLA candidate refused to speak in public. After skipping a Kelowna Chamber of Commerce all candidates forum — a tradition in the city — the chamber expressed its disappointment. “I find it sad that people who want to represent people in their riding and be an elected official are deciding to not get themselves out in front of the electorate, and hear from the people,” the chamber’s acting chief executive officer Colleen Clark told the Kelowna Daily Courier. https://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/news/article_e1bc9f92-84d7-11ef-a509-b725fb817e12.html “I’ve never seen this before, and I’ve been doing all-candidate forums since 1994, where candidates from a main party decline to show up.” The last day to vote is Oct. 19. To contact a reporter for this story, email Marshall Jones mailto:mjones@infonews.ca  or call 250-718-2724 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .