If Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca residents want a MP who has the ear of government and can deliver on infrastructure, Troy DeSouza says he is the man for the job.

ItB次元官网网址檚 DeSouzaB次元官网网址檚 third stab at gaining the riding for the Conservatives, and is again focusing on traffic woes between the West Shore and Victoria as the cornerstone of his campaign.

DeSouza says he can help deliver federal funding for an overpass at the Trans-Canada Highway and McKenzie Avenue to help solve the daily traffic bottleneck. ItB次元官网网址檚 a solution that will have immediate payoff for residents, he says, and can be built much faster and cheaper than a commuter rail system.

B次元官网网址淚 support rail and what the Island Corridor Foundation is doing, but until money is on the table I have to deal with urgent realities,B次元官网网址� DeSouza said. B次元官网网址淭here is a huge traffic congestion problem on the Colwood crawl. It affects families and the amount of time it takes to get home. The McKenzie interchange is a practical project.

B次元官网网址淥pponents say people should just get out of their cars. That is some top-down, elitist, misguided thinking that doesnB次元官网网址檛 benefit peoplesB次元官网网址� lives.B次元官网网址�

DeSouza, 42, a lawyer and family man who lives in Saanich, also has shipbuilding jobs in Esquimalt and the halibut fishery on his radar as key developing issues in the riding.

His party was found in contempt of Parliament which precipitated the non-confidence vote, but he said political games in Ottawa donB次元官网网址檛 resonate with local voters.

B次元官网网址淧eople I talk to at the door donB次元官网网址檛 care about inside Ottawa politics. They care about keeping the economy strong and the Colwood crawl. People are fed up with traffic,B次元官网网址� DeSouza said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 running on the notion of staying the course on what the government is doing.

B次元官网网址淐anada has done tremendously well compared to other G8 nations since the global downturn. ItB次元官网网址檚 entirely attributable to the prudent economic management of the prime minister.B次元官网网址�

The 2008 electionB次元官网网址檚 68 vote gap doesnB次元官网网址檛 hang over his campaign, he says B次元官网网址� each run has a new dynamic and this will be a tough three-way race, although he doesnB次元官网网址檛 discount the Green candidate.

With Liberal MP Keith Martin stepping aside, DeSouza says the riding is ready for a fresh start with an MP in government. B次元官网网址淭his riding has had an opposition MP for the past 18 years. I spoke to Keith about this, and IB次元官网网址檓 sure he was frustrated at times,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 the right guy at the right time at the right place to deliver real results. That separates me from all my opponents.B次元官网网址�

DeSouza, a former officer in the Canadian armed forces reserves, admits he first ran against Martin in 2006 on a dare B次元官网网址� one of his friends called him B次元官网网址渃hicken.B次元官网网址� Five years later B次元官网网址� with at least four visits by the PM B次元官网网址� support for the Conservative message has grown tremendously in Esquimalt-JDF, he said.

B次元官网网址淭his is a bad time to have an election. We are just getting through tough times,B次元官网网址� DeSouza said. B次元官网网址淐anadians donB次元官网网址檛 want this kind of unstable, political minority government. The only solution for a strong economy is a four-year stable majority Conservative government.B次元官网网址�