The BC Liberals have chosen Mehran Zargham to go up against long-time NDP MLA Mike Farnworth in Port Coquitlam in the Oct. 24 provincial election.
Zargham, a project manager at BC Ferries, graduated from BCIT’s mechanical engineering program in 2015 and said he has lived in the Tri-Cities since 2003.
While in school, the first-time candidate promoted fair trade policies and launched the first ever Fair Trade Soccer Game to encourage the use of ethical coffee beans. He also worked with the Society of Automotive Engineers Baja project, designing, building and testing recreational off-road vehicles and competed in several competitions against other universities from across North America.
Since graduating, he has worked with shipbuilding company Meridian Marine from Richmond, before joining Lloyd Register, where he did surveying work around the world, including Toronto, London, Southampton and Venice.
Eventually, Zargham made his way to BC Ferries, where he has overseen several ship refits.
But unseating Farnworth could be Zargham’s toughest challenge yet.
Aside from the NDP wipeout in 2001, the incumbent MLA has held the riding in every election since 1991. When the results were tallied after the last race in 2017, Farnworth took the Port Coquitlam riding with 55.4% of the vote.
