Former Vancouver Canucks owner Arthur Griffiths said he will accept the B.C. Liberals’ invitation to compete for the hotly contested provincial riding of Vancouver-Burrard in an upcoming by-election.

During the 2005 provincial contest, Liberal candidate Lorne Mayencourt triumphed by only 11 votes over his New Democratic Party counterpart to take control of the West End constituency.

Now that the former MLA is running with the federal Conservatives in Vancouver-Centre, Griffiths expects a neck-and-neck race to fill the slot he left behind.

“We can’t expect it to be anything but tight,” he told The Tyee.

Griffiths is hoping that his high profile and strong business credentials paint him as capable leader. But he’s also consulting with a wide range of local organizations such as the West End Residents Association and Saint Paul’s Hospital to cement his connection to community.

“My position has always been to listen to people and then take their concerns forward,” he said.

Spencer Herbert is seeking the NDP nomination to run against Griffiths.

“It’s a story of the BMW versus a bike or a bus,” the Council of Progressive Electors (COPE) Parks Board commissioner told The Tyee. “People want to support somebody who understands their issues on a personal level.”

In Vancouver-Burrard, those include spiking rates of homelessness, a rental housing crisis and concerns about the future of an aging St. Paul’s Hospital, said Herbert.

But the NDP candidate said the by-election is also a chance for voters to register their opinion of the Liberal-held legislature.

“It’s a referendum on the Campbell government right now,” said Herbert. “He needs to be sent a wake-up call.”

Though both Griffiths and Herbert are already crafting their campaigns, no one is sure when the actual by-election will take place.

“We’re all waiting for the premier to make his decision,” Griffiths said.

Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for The Hook.