MANILA, Philippines – Mable Elmore, daughter of an immigrant nurse from Cebu, made history this month as the first Filipina to be elected to the British Columbia legislature. A New Democrat, she will represent Vancouver-Kensington.
Elmore celebrated her victory with supporters, many of them from the Filipino community in B.C.
During her campaign, Elmore had pledged to “fight for the people of Vancouver-Kensington. For equality and equity, for better transit, for supporting our seniors, and for making our communities safe and healthy, and sustainable.”
Acknowledging the challenges that lie ahead in her role as legislator, Elmore said, “In the coming weeks and months, I will look forward to continuing the conversations I have started all over Kensington, and help find ways to face these challenges together, in a way that makes sense, and in a way that values everyday people like you and me.”
Elmore and New Democratic Party leader Carole James had accused Premier Gordon Campbell of pushing projects that benefit only their friends. She promised to “invest real dollars in communities, and truly support ordinary people and their families.”
One of her promised initiatives was to add 500 new buses for the Greater Vancouver area. Elmore has been a bus driver for ten years, and a day after she won the NDP nomination, she had surprised many by taking the wheel of her bus No. 8 as usual. She is an active transit union activist and has fought for transit reform.
Elmore had recently been embroiled in a controversy over her statement that it was difficult to generate opposition to the war in Iraq because of vocal Zionists in the workplace. She was forced to issue an apology after NDP leader James told reporters that the “comments were clearly unacceptable and offensive.”
Statistics from 2006 reveal that there are about 88,100 Filipino-Canadians in the B.C. area, making them the third most visible minority group.
“There was a lot of excitement in the Filipino community and a lot of volunteers because they have not had a representative in the provincial government,” Elmore said in an interview.
“The last eight years have been the hardest on ordinary families, and especially their children,” said Elmore. “With the highest level of child poverty in Canada we need to put an end to government that only helps its friends. We need to start to build a legacy for future generations, focusing on health care, education, and an economy that is sustainable and green.”
The next legislature will have 11 members from visible minority groups. Six are South Asians, three Chinese, one Japanese and Elmore, a Filipina.