Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi has been nominated as the Green party’s candidate in the new Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding.
Hunt-Jinnouchi, who owns Evedar's Bistro in Langford as well as her own consulting business, was introduced to the Greens last fall when she held a fundraiser for a friend with Lyme disease at her restaurant.
She invited party leader Elizabeth May, and was surprised when May agreed to speak at the gathering.
"I realized that there is still hope in politics," Hunt-Jinnouchi said. "She very much inspired me."
Hunt-Jinnouchi then decided to become a candidate. On Jan. 30, she won the party's nomination for the next federal election, expected this fall.
She has deep roots in Vancouver Island First Nations, being Kwakiutl on her father's side and having been elected as chief of the northern Vancouver Island Quatsino First Nation.
It's a heritage that's important to her, and one that has shaped how she views the world.
Hunt-Jinnouchi said she plans to make the Cowichan Valley the centre of her efforts.
"I recognize absolutely that the Valley is its own unique community, and a priority to for me is to be visible and involved there ... more so than anywhere else in the riding," she said, as she prepared to head out the door on a trip to Cowichan to look for office space.
She said she's also in the process of putting a team of people together who will be well-linked to all of the areas in the far-flung riding.
"People who have their finger on the pulse," she said.
