FORMER Langley City councillor Dean Drysdale won the Conservative Party nomination from Cloverdale-Langley City federal riding on Saturday night.
Drysdale won in the third round of voting, defeating life insurance salesman Mike Garisto 528 to 503 – 25 votes.
The other two candidates were Surrey business lawyer Tako van Popta and former Liberal MLA Dave Hayer who got knocked out in the second round.
Surrey businessman Paul Brar, who had to withdraw from the nomination race along with Gurmant Grewal, supported Drysdale.
Tako van Popta got only 206 votes in the first round, while Drysdale led with 422 votes, followed by Garisto with 335 votes and Hayer with 345 votes.
In the second round, Drysdale led again with 456 votes, followed by Garisto with 443 votes and Hayer with 373 votes.
In a message on his website, Drysdale said: “Thank you to the members of the Cloverdale – Langley City Conservative Party of Canada Electoral District Association for electing me as the candidate for the next General Election.
“I look forward to serving everyone in Cloverdale – Langley City and working with our Party under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to win this seat.
“Thank you to my fellow candidates, Mike Garisto, Dave Hayer and Tako van Popta for having the courage to present your names and reputations to our community.”
DRYSDALE is currently teaching as a professor of Business Management at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and runs his own consulting firm in the area of corporate finance.
Since 1981, he served in the Canadian Army Reserves, currently with a rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Trained as an artillery officer, he commanded the15th Field Regiment, RCA from 2001 to 2004. In 2004, he was appointed Canadian Vice-President of the CIOR, which is the NATO Association of Reserve Officers. Since 2008, he has served as a regional liaison officer attached to the Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. He attended the Militia Command and Staff College and has taught as a civilian on the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College as well as participating in the Persian Gulf War as a journalist attached to the Egyptian Army.
THE VOICE was the first to report (last week on Saturday on our website at www.voiceonline.com) that Surrey businessman Paul Brar and at least one other South Asian candidate had been ordered by the Conservative Party to withdraw their nomination from the Cloverdale-Langley City riding.
The second candidate was former Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal.
The party did not give any reason, but The VOICE has now learned the possible reasons, but will not disclose it for now.
South Asians comprise only 10 per cent of the riding’s population. East Asians form another 10 per cent and the rest are all white.