Name Julian West Party New Democratic Party | Role Political figure | |
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Education Massachusetts Institute of Technology | ||
Julian West is a mathematician and former political activist from British Columbia, Canada.
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Early life and career
West was born in England and moved to Canada as a young child. As a high school student, he represented Canada in Canada's first participation at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Washington, DC, USA, earning a bronze medal. After attending high school in Vancouver, West earned a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the supervision of Richard P. Stanley. He has taught at universities in Canada, France and the United States, and currently resides in Bristol, England.
Green Party
In 1995, West joined the Green Party of British Columbia and the Green Party of Canada. He ran provincially as a Green in the constituency of Cowichan-Ladysmith in 1996, losing to NDP incumbent Jan Pullinger. West held many high-level positions within the Green Party, notably serving as the chair of the provincial organizing committee, and later as the chair of the federal organizing committee. He was the Green Party's representative on Elections Canada's Advisory Committee of Political Parties from 1997 until 2003.
West was associated with the left-wing progressive element of the Green Party. He left the Green Party of British Columbia after Stuart Parker was ousted as its leader in March, 2000, and left the Green Party of Canada in 2003, citing differences with its new leader Jim Harris.
Electoral reform advocacy
West has been one of the most prominent advocates for proportional representation in Canada. He is a former director of Fair Vote Canada, and has held similar positions in British Columbia organizations including Fair Voting BC.
In September 2004, West was one of nine British Columbians chosen to address the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform in plenary session. He spoke in favour of the selection of BC-STV as a new voting system for the province. West later campaigned in favour of BC-STV in the 2005 referendum.
NDP candidacies
West joined the New Democratic Party in October 2003. He was an unsuccessful candidate for his party's nomination in Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca for the 2004 federal election, and in Cowichan-Ladysmith for the 2005 BC provincial election.
On April 21, 2007, West defeated three other candidates to win the NDP nomination in the riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands for the 2008 federal election.
On September 23, 2008, after some controversy and allegations of impropriety, West withdrew his candidacy for the Saanich—Gulf Islands seat. Because the nomination deadline had already passed, West's withdrawal was too late for a new NDP candidate to be nominated. West's name remained on the ballot and although he ran no campaign, he garnered 5.69% of the vote.