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"I'll always be the underdog," said Stephen Fuhr about his approach to the 2019 federal election. But he won in 2015 with few pundits suggesting he had a chance, so he doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he's optimistic he can pull it off again.
We asked the incumbent candidate in Kelowna-Lake Country what he's encountering as he takes his campaign door to door. "There's lots of positivity and certainly a ton of recognition for the work that myself and my team were able to do over the four years," said Stephen Fuhr during an interview at KelownaNow. He loves the support he sees, but he also enjoys talking to those who are opposed to the Liberal agenda.
"Most of the time, they'll cite something that's not even true," Fuhr said. "I'll stay on that doorstep as long as they'll talk about it, and sometimes I'll walk away and they'll go 'You've given me a lot to think about' and we wish each other a good day and off I go."
He said the kind of negativity that often shows up in the comments section below stories about politics doesn't show up when he's going door to door.
"I don't find that on the doorstep at all. In fact, I find very little, if any negativity."
As for the top issues that arise.
"Affordability is certainly up there, said Fuhr. "They want action on climate change, that's been pretty evident."
He described a balanced Liberal approach to these issues.
"Fiscal policies that help more people, and environmental policies that are better for our planet."
He said the environment is the issue where there is a real distance between the Liberals and the Conservatives.
"The Conservatives keep hammering away at people saying either that it's not important or they can't afford it."
Fuhr said he believes he's done a pretty good job over the past four years, and he's thankful voters gave him the opportunity.
"They bet on me, he said. "I'd only lived in this community at that time for six years. I maybe knew 40 people in this town, I had no track record in politics whatsoever and they still voted for me which I'm thankful for."
Voting day is October 21.
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