Fruitvale Mayor Steve Morissette is honoured and energized about being acclaimed the new NDP candidate for Kootenay-Monashee.
Morissette will take over from Katrine Conroy, who has been the Kootenay-West (now Kootenay-Monashee) MLA for 19 years before announcing her retirement in May.
“It just kind of happened organically,” said Morissette. “I’m a newcomer to the NDP, and I felt maybe it wasn’t to be initially, and I backed off.
“A little while later they called me and said ‘Are you still interested? We’re interested.’”
Morissette says he thought about it long and hard for about a week. He talked to his wife Kelly, his family, neighbouring Boundary MLA Roly Russel, and MLA Conroy before making a decision.
“I thought alright, everyone was supportive, so boom, I’ll give this a go.”
Until the October 19 provincial election, Morissette will retain his position as Mayor of Fruitvale, a village of almost 2,000 residents in the West Kootenay.
In the event he is elected MLA, Fruitvale will then call a by-election to replace the outgoing Mayor.
The former School District director of operations was elected to council in 2014 and mayor in 2018. He has since navigated the village through COVID, several municipal challenges and successes, and has built relationships throughout Greater Trail and the Kootenays, while remaining eminently accessible, positive and responsive to the community.
“We both started our various municipal careers together,” said Rossland Mayor Andy Morel, who along with Morissette was also a Regional District director before running for council. “So we have spent multiple years together sitting at different tables and have similar values, and I am excited for him.
“He has done great things for Fruitvale, and I know he will do great things for the region as the new MLA.”
Morissette also acknowledges the two decades of excellent work Conroy has accomplished in the legislature, yet, he is undaunted by her legacy.
“She set the bar high for a little guy from little old Fruitvale,” said Morissette. “But I don’t feel it (any added pressure), no.
“I am getting tons of support from community leaders around the area. Yes, there will be pressure to perform if I win, but I am up for that and I’m excited about it.”
Conroy, 66, was first elected Kootenay-West MLA in 2005 and has thrown her full support behind Morissette.
“I am quite excited that he has agreed to do this,” Conroy told the Trail Times. “It’s a big decision to make for somebody, and it’s not just you, it’s your family and he has 100 per cent support of his family and lots of people who are very eager to support him and get out and work on his campaign.
“I think he will make a great MLA for the region.”
The NDP vetting process was understandably comprehensive, as the party in power prepares for its 2024 campaign set to kick off September 21.
“It’s a huge process becoming a candidate,” said Morissette. “They vet you very closely … and they want to make sure they don’t get any surprises.”
Morissette also wants to ensure that Fruitvale is left in good hands. Before he accepted the nomination, he spoke to a potential mayoral candidate, who agreed to run in a by-election if Morissette is successful in the provincial election.
“I have thousands of hours invested in Fruitvale, and I didn’t want to see that just fall by the wayside.”
Although Conroy is set to retire, she will continue with the continuity of the governing party in her work as Finance Minister, as well as help campaign for the NDP until election time.
She is confident that her successor will thrive in the provincial arena, as he prepares for his acclimation by the Kootenay-Monashee Electoral District Association on Aug. 22.
“He (Morissette) is very in tune with everything that we support as a party,” said Conroy. “The work that he has done as mayor has been incredible.”
As Fruitvale’s mayor for the past six years, Morissette is grateful for what council was able to accomplish. He points to the recent opening of the Beaver Valley Childcare Centre provincially funded via the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, and the 31-unit affordable housing complex, Blizzard Mountain Place, set to open in 2025, also in part funded by the province.
“Those are huge accomplishments that I’m really proud of,” said Morissette.
The NDP candidate notes that the government has helped several communities in the riding build affordable housing projects and daycare centres, improve health-care facilities, while continuing in its efforts to improve health care in the province, and train health care professionals.
With the support of the outgoing MLA, his family, friends, and community, Morissette is confident that he will provide a strong voice for the riding, and is intent on promoting interests of local constituents on the provincial stage.
“I’m really excited by the opportunity to support our whole area,” added Morissette. “As mayor, I’ve always been really interested and supportive of regional issues, so this was just a natural progression.”
The Kootenay-Monashee boundary includes all of Greater Trail, Castlegar, and Crescent Valley, and runs northwest to Nakusp and Cherryville.
