A first-term City of Terrace councillor has become the first announced and approved candidate for the Skeena riding鈥檚 NDP nomination leading to this October鈥檚 provincial election.

Sarah Zimmerman held an informal thank you event May 1 at the Sherwood Brewery event hall for supporters, family and friends.

鈥淢y commitment is to win Skeena back,鈥� Zimmerman told the audience.

Now a communications advisor contractor, Zimmerman has held a staff position at Rio Tinto Alcan and was the communications executive director at Coast Mountain College.

She topped the polls in the October 2022 City of Terrace municipal election, placing first among 15 candidates for the six council seats.

Zimmerman鈥檚 volunteer experience includes a stint as president of the Rotary Club of Terrace. She鈥檚 also a past director with the My Mountain Co-op/Shames Mountain board and was a provincial appointee for six years on the B.C. Games Society board of directors.

As a communications professional Zimmerman has been a member of the Canadian Public Relations Society since 2007.

鈥淚t鈥檚 too early to say when or if I would need to take a leave from city council, and that decision would be made pending the outcome of the nomination,鈥� Zimmerman said.

A formal nomination date has not been set, but Zimmerman expects it to happen soon.

This is not the first time Zimmerman has made a bid to become a Member of the Legislative Assembly.

In 2017 she placed third and Nicole Halbauer placed second behind Bruce Bidgood in the NDP nomination race for the provincial electioin held in May that year.

Bidgood was defeated by B.C. Liberal candidate Ellis Ross who was returned to office in the Oct. 2020 provincial election. Halbauer was the NDP candidate in that election.

This time the seat is wide open as Ross wants to be the next Skeena-Bulkley Valley Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party of Canada in the federal election which is scheduled for Oct. 2025.

The provincial Conservative party has already chosen its Skeena riding candidate in Claire Ratt茅e, a former District of Kitimat councillor. Ratt茅e has made two unsuccessful attempts to defeat New Democrat Taylor Bachrach as the Member of Parliament for the Skeena-Bulkley Valley riding in the last two federal elections.

The B.C. United party has yet to choose a Skeena riding candidate for the provincial election.