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"We'll get to almost every door and some doors we've been to twice," said Conservative candidate Tracy Gray. "We've actually calculated that in the last four months that I've walked to Calgary and back." That's just in the last four months. Gray has already been wearing our the shoe-leather for a year.
Gray said she typically opens with a question when the door opens. "What's important to you?" she asks people. "It's not a matter of me saying 'vote for me, this is what I can do'". The first thing she wants people to notice is that she's a good listener. "This is how I find out what's going on in their lives," Gray added, "and then we steer the conversation from there."
On top of the big commitment to getting to peoples' doorsteps, Gray has also met with as many groups as possible, from service clubs and community groups to business owners and farmers. "That's how I believe in being a voice for your community. How else can you do that, unless you're really 'boots on the ground.'"
Gray has a background in the wine industry. She was the founder and owner of Discover Wines, before going on to serve as a city councillor in Kelowna.
She says the number one topic that comes up in this campaign is affordability. "People are trying to figure out how they are going to live," said Gray. "At the end of the year, I just have less."
Those points fit nicely into Conservative promises of tax breaks. Gray admits that these policies come with a cost, so that's why, neither the Liberals are promising to balance the budget at least not in the short term.
"We want to be careful that we don't cut services," she said. But she was quick to mention that her party is at least keep an eye on spending. "We're actually costing-out everything out that we're doing so it's really responsible," she added. "The Trudeau Liberals aren't."
At the end of our interview, Gray expressed her gratitude for all of the support she's gotten from friends and former colleagues in her political effort. Voters go to the polls on October 21.
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