The Liberals’ Bill Bennett has won his seat of Kootenay East for the fourth straight time.
Bennett easily defeated NDP challenger Norma Blissett, winning 62 per cent of the vote to her 37.5 per cent, as of 9 p.m. on election night.
Currently Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, Bennett was first elected in 2001. Before moving to Cranbrook, he owned and operated wilderness fishing and hunting lodges in the Northwest Territories for 15 years.
He is known as one of the most outspoken MLAs in the legislature, and recently tweeted that the NDP were “turds.”
The only other candidate in this riding, Norma Blissett, is a high school teacher at Cranbrook’s Mount Baker Secondary. She has also worked in the forestry industry. She serves as president of Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook.
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