A fourth hat is in the ring for the federal Conservative nomination in the Kamloops-Thompson Cariboo.

Barriere mayor Ward Stamer will be seeking the nomination.

Stamer is a career logger who has lived in the North Thompson for most of his life. He was a councillor in Barriere for 10 years, before being elected mayor in 2018.

He garnered the most votes as a councillor in municipal elections in 2014, 2011, and tied for the most votes in 2008.

The 59-year-old says he now has the time to be able to run for the nomination.

“In the past, when I was working for the logging company, I didn’t have the flexibility in my work schedule to be able to pursue much more than a part-time councillor position that I had in Barriere. In the past couple of years I was fortunate enough to be working part-time, and became the mayor of Barriere, which I truly love, and appreciate everyday that I get a chance to work for the residents in our region.”

He was asked the biggest topics on his radar are right now.

“First off is a strong fiscal policy. The Conservative Party has always been fiscally prudent, and is always wanting to have more transparency in government. I think we’ve lost that, with our current government we have. And the second thing is we need future economic growth and innovation throughout this region.”

He says, there are examples of regional strengths for innovation, including Paradigm in the Louis Creek Industrial Park south of Barriere, which opened last summer. The fully-automated manufacturing facility is the first of its kind in Canada and third in the world.

“So I just thought this was a good opportunity for me to be able to put my hat in the ring and show that not only am I able to have the experience and the energy and the knowledge to do this job, but I think I have the focus and the connections to be able to connect the entire region. Not just downtown Kamloops, but also the entire region that encompasses the riding.”

Stamer joins Bev Desantis, Mike Grenier and Frank Caputo as Conservative candidates in this riding.

Whenever the election is called, the federal Conservatives will have a new candidate in this riding for the first time since 2008. Incumbent Cathy McLeod announced last month she would be retiring from federal politics at the end of this term.