Greg Kazakoff is the B.C. Conservative party candidate for the Oak Bay-Gordon Head riding in the upcoming provincial election.
As a professional chartered accountant with an extensive background in government finances, Kazakoff said he intends to use his expertise to promote his beliefs.
“As a conservative I believe in small government,” Kazakoff said. “I believe in balanced budgets and I have the financial background to see that that happens.”
Hailing from Edmonton, Kazakoff went to th University of Calgary and worked there for years as a chartered accountant. Contract work followed, including a stint in the Northwest Territories performing audits in preparation for the creation of Nunavut. Kazakoff also owned an oil and gas company for a number of years in Calgary.
Kazakoff moved to Victoria in 2001 and currently lives in the Gordon Head area. He said he moved here with his wife with the intention of retiring, but soon found himself working for the Esquimalt First Nation as a financial administrator and, later, for the provincial government working on the financial side for two ministries.
“While I was there I got a pretty in-depth look at how government finances are handled,” Kazakoff said.
Now Kazakoff said he is ready to throw his hat into the political ring.
Two things prompted Kazakoff’s decision to run. First was his own observations while working for the government that things were not being run well, from a financial accounting perspective. The other was his opinion of the Liberal party.
“I think the Liberals were quite arrogant in the way they did things,” Kazakoff said.
“I’ve got a number of issues that I’d like to be able to address if I get elected.”
Kazakoff’s relationship with the Conservative party has been rocky in recent months. He resigned from its board of directors over concerns he had with being asked to approve candidates without being provided any of their biographical information.
Nonetheless, Kazakoff continues to believe in the basic principals of the party.
Along with his financial expertise, Kazakoff said he also has a social agenda and believes in the importance of the government helping those who cannot help themselves. He was a community advisor for the Victoria Foundation and the treasurer for Surrounded by Cedar, a First Nations social services group.