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Gwen O'Mahony

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Gwen O'Mahony
MLA for Chilliwack-Hope
In office
April 19, 2012 – April 16, 2013
Preceded byBarry Penner
Succeeded byLaurie Throness
Personal details
Born (1971-11-02) November 2, 1971 (age 53)
Campbell River, British Columbia
Political partyBC Conservative (2023—present)
Other political
affiliations		New Democratic Party (until 2023)
Residence(s)Nanaimo, British Columbia
EducationMaster of Business Administration, Master of Science (International Management), Bachelor of Science (General Studies)[1]
Alma materVancouver Island University
University of Hertfordshire
University of the Fraser Valley[1]
OccupationBusiness Owner - O'Mahony Consulting

Gwen O'Mahony (born November 2, 1972)[2] is a Canadian politician, who represented Chilliwack-Hope in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from April 2012 until April 2013 as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, and is now a member of the Conservative Party of British Columbia.[3]

She was the first New Democratic Party candidate and the first woman to win the riding of Chilliwack-Hope.[4] Before getting elected as an MLA, she worked for 18 years with the developmentally disabled at a group home. In an interview, she expressed her shock at being elected. "I'm a regular person, I know what it is like when prices go up, because I've lived paycheque to paycheque.", she said.[4]

Gwen is the oldest of seven children and has family members that have battled addiction across generations.[4] Overnight, she had to take over the guardianship of two of her nieces and became their single parent as her sister was unable to care for them.[4] She had to set aside her education and cut back on her work hours.[4] "Going to the courts to get guardianship, that was what sparked my desire to become politically active. I knew I would survive this with the girls, and we are going to have a life. But I saw vulnerable people falling through the cracks." she said.[4]

Putting in shifts at the group home while struggling to find affordable childcare is what led her to the New Democratic Party.[4] When she spoke to a group of New Democrats to explain how government cuts to child-care funding affected the general population, they encouraged her to stand as a candidate.[4] As the sole breadwinner for her family, it was a difficult decision to make since it would mean giving up her steady wage to campaign.[4] It meant burning up her holiday time and taking unpaid leaves all with no guarantee of a payoff. "It was a great gamble." she said.[4]

Her first campaign, in the 2009 election, had limited budget as the NDP preferred not to invest heavily in a riding they had no expectation of winning.[4] Which meant it was mostly her and her campaign manager.[4] They lost the election to the B.C. Liberal incumbent, Barry Penner.[4] With Mr. Penner's resignation in January 2012, the equation changed.[4] Low on the polls due to its move adopting the HST, and the B.C. Conservatives were eating into the Liberals' vote base.[4] This gave the NDP the opportunity to replace Mr. Penner. Ms. O'Mahony put up a fight and won the party nomination.[4] Top party officials sent in veteran organizers.[4] A large campaign office was set up and over 200 campaign staff worked the phones and distributed signs and leaflets.[4] On April 19, she won the difficult by-election which meant a packed campaign party where she was toasted with champagne and was asked to get ready for media interviews starting at 6 a.m. the following day.[4]

O'Mahony was previously the party's candidate in Chilliwack-Hope in the 2009 provincial election, as well as running federally for the New Democrats in Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon in the 2011 federal election. In the 2013 provincial election, O'Mahony was defeated by BC Liberal Party candidate Laurie Throness, the same Liberal candidate she had faced in the 2012 by-election. In 2021, O'Mahony unsuccessfully sought the federal NDP nomination for Nanaimo—Ladysmith.[5]

On April 3, 2024, O'Mahony was unveiled as the BC Conservative candidate for Nanaimo-Lantzville in the 2024 British Columbia general election.[6] O'Mahony would go on to lose the election to George Anderson of the BC NDP.[7]

Electoral record

[edit]
2024 British Columbia general election: Nanaimo-Lantzville
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic George Anderson 14,614 51.41 +3.41
Conservative Gwen O'Mahony 11,342 39.90 +37.80
Green Lia Versaevel 2,473 8.70 -11.30
Total valid votes 28,429 –
Total rejected ballots
Turnout 29,580
Registered voters
Source: Elections BC[8]
2013 British Columbia general election: Chilliwack-Hope
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Laurie Throness 10,053 49.15
New Democratic Gwen O'Mahony 7,364 36.01
Conservative Michael Henshall 2,202 10.77
Independent Ryan Ashley McKinnon 833 4.07
Total valid votes 20,452 100.00
Total rejected ballots 117 0.57
Turnout 20,569 57.38
Source: Elections BC[9]
British Columbia provincial by-election, April 19, 2012: Chilliwack-Hope
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Gwen O'Mahony 6,022 41.89 +8
Liberal Laurie Throness 4,593 31.95 -22
Conservative John Martin 3,615 25.15 +18
Libertarian Lewis Dahlby 145 1.01
Total valid votes 14,375
Total rejected ballots 26
Turnout 14,401 41.12
"Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the Port Moody-Coquitlam and Chilliwack-Hope By-elections" (PDF). Elections B.C. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
2011 Canadian federal election: Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mark Strahl 28,160 57.20 -5.12
New Democratic Gwen O'Mahony 12,691 25.78 +7.02
Liberal Diane Janzen 5,320 10.81 +2.29
Green Jamie Hoskins 2,706 5.50 -3.27
Western Block Clive Edwards 180 0.37 –
Marxist–Leninist Dorothy-Jean O'Donnell 173 0.35 +0.11
Total valid votes/expense limit 49,230 100.00
Total rejected ballots 152 0.31 +0.04
Turnout 49,382 58.99 +1
Eligible voters 83,713
2009 British Columbia general election: Chilliwack-Hope
Party Candidate Votes % Expenditures
Liberal Barry Penner 8,985 53.28 $67,073
New Democratic Gwen O'Mahony 5,638 33.43 $18,541
Conservative Hans Mulder 1,198 7.10 $250
Green Guy Durnin 951 5.64 $350
People's Front Dorothy-Jean O'Donnell 93 0.55 $260
Total valid votes 16,865
Total rejected ballots 95 0.56
Turnout 16,960 51.85
"Chilliwack-Hope B.C. Votes". CBC.ca. Retrieved April 12, 2009.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b O'Mahony, Gwen. "Gwen O'Mahony".
  2. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "NDP win both B.C. byelections; Liberals in second place"[permanent dead link‍]. Vancouver Sun, April 20, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Hunter, Justine (June 20, 2012). "Rookie MLA adjusting to her new digs". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "Nanaimo-Ladysmith school trustee selected as federal NDP candidate". Nanaimo News Bulletin. May 24, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Gwen O'Mahony at Conservative Party of BC". Conservative Party of BC. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "NDP's George Anderson projected to win Nanaimo-Lantzville riding". CHEK News. October 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  8. ^ https://globalnews.ca/news/10779040/bc-election-2024-results-nanaimo-lantzville/
  9. ^ "Statement of Votes - 40th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
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