News release

Citizens' Assembly passes 100

VICTORIA -- The Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform selected its 100th member Wednesday night, and now stands at 104.

Selected by random draw at a meeting in Victoria were:

Hewsick, 54, is self-employed in MJ Home and Garden, doing cleaning, gardening, pet care and companion care. MacDonald is a retired public servant (federal and provincial), and is married, with two grown sons.

Young is a 45-year-old ship’s captain who has been doing international marine consulting for countries including Russia. Coombes is 71, retired, and an active community figure in senior affairs and the environment.

Bergerud is 49, and a statistician with the B.C. government since 1975. She's married with two children. Van Reyen, 34, is a navy lieutenant and seamanship training officer at the Canadian Forces Fleet School at Esquimalt.

By Nov. 25, the Assembly will have 158 members from all over B.C. – one man and one woman from each of the 79 provincial electoral districts.  The next selection meeting is in North Vancouver tonight, (Thursday) where eight members will be picked.

The Assembly will spend much of 2004 examining electoral systems in use around the world, and will decide if they should propose a change to B.C.’s current system of translating votes into seats in the Legislature.

If the Assembly members recommend a change, it will be the subject of a referendum for all voters in the 2005 provincial election. Any change approved by the voters would take effect with the 2009 B.C. election.