The next generation of BC Liberal movers and shakers crowded into a downtown hotel Wednesday night to mingle with the leadership candidates vying to replace Premier Gordon Campbell next month.
About 1,000 people attended the gathering, billed as the first face-to-face encounter of the candidates in what has so far been a race with few sparks.
The meeting is aimed at attracting the Lower Mainland's under-40 set, and most attending appeared to be young business types.
They were urged by Christy Clark and Mike de Jong to take out a Liberal membership, a $10 expenditure that's good for four years.
De Jong issued the most partisan rallying cry of the evening, aimed at stirring anti-NDP sentiment.
"Are we entrepreneurs in this room?" he asked enthusiastically. "You better believe we are."
De Jong said a Liberal membership is the best way to fight the New Democrats who he said want to raise income taxes and the corporate capital tax, both moves a likely scourge to those in attendance.
"Get a membership, get involved and help us move to victory," de Jong said.
Clark said she welcomed the informal structure of the event, which gave each candidate a chance to deliver a speech, then to mingle with the crowd.
"I'm talking a lot about listening in this campaign. I want to listen to you."
She also told them she's an ardent supporter of the green economy.
"It will unleash billions of dollars of investment," she said.
Long-shot leadership candidate Ed Mayne, the former mayor of Parksville and a virtual political unknown, shook hands with everybody he approached before the meeting began.
He said he plans to run an old-fashioned campaign that focuses on meeting people personally and not through recorded phone calls.
Mayne said he will pitch a $100 tax credit to every British Columbian who votes in an election. The tax credit is aimed at increasing the province's low voter turnout, which has been hovering near 50 per cent.
Outside of the meeting, harmonized sales tax protesters greeted people with jeers and chants of "Don't vote for B.C. Liberal lies" and "Recall, Recall."
One person wore an elaborate bird-like headdress, and called herself King Falcon, to mock leadership candidate Kevin Falcon.
Also running for Liberal leader are former cabinet ministers Moira Stilwell and longtime-Liberal cabinet minister George Abbott, who was campaigning in Prince George and could not attend personally.
Is targeting young people a smart strategy?
Lindsay Meredith, marketing strategy professor at Simon Fraser University, says that marketing to a younger demographic may work against the BC Liberals.
"The most inactive age is 18 to 30," he said. "That group is notoriously bad for voting. If they were able to provoke a lot of voting in that age group, that demographic would show a left-leaning preference, which could work against the Liberals."
Meredith said that political platform initiatives marketed towards young people tend to be expensive.
Candidates have included campaign promises aimed at appealing to the younger generation.
All candidates have said they will raise the minimum wage in B.C. above $8 per hour, and Moira Stilwell wants to lower interest rates on student loans.
De Jong has showed support for lowering the voting age from 18 to 16. Kevin Falcon announced that he supports extending SkyTrain operating hours on Friday and Saturday nights in order to give young people partying downtown a safe and affordable way to get home
George Abbott has said that he wants to work to create opportunities for young people seeking jobs.
With files from ctvbc.ca
