The movement to establish a third major political party in B.C. has made its first foray into the Kootenays with Invermere Mayor Gerry Taft announcing he intends to be a candidate for the BC First Party.

"I'm excited to help build the third party that everyone in B.C. is asking for," he said in an interview Thursday.

BC First Spokesman Chris Delaney announced last week that Taft has accepted appointment to the BC First pro-tem Board of Directors as Director for the Kootenay Region.

"Gerry is an incredible asset to our team. He is a small businessman who was born, lives and works in the Kootenay region. He knows the challenges faced by businesses and people living there. We are very pleased to have his support and help in organizing this region for our party," said Delaney.

Taft was first elected to the District of Invermere Council in 2002 at the age of 20, where he served two terms as a councillor before being elected mayor. He also sits as a director on the Board of the Regional District of East Kootenay.

"I will bring my experience and understanding of the issues that affect the residents in this region to the BC First Party. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to pull everybody together in the common cause of taking our province back and governing it for the people of BC rather than big interests. We are making history and as I told Chris, I'm honoured to be a part of it," said Taft.

Taft has a history in business, starting his first successful company selling hot dogs at age 17. He currently owns a café in Invermere that sells homemade gelato and specialty coffees, serving local residents as well as the large tourism trade common to the area that borders Alberta.

"Gerry will be our go to guy for the Kootenay region. He has a strong understanding of small business and particularly the tourism industry. He has a lot of contacts with prominent people in that area who are looking for a new party to govern BC in the wake of the collapse of the BC Liberals," said Delaney.

Delaney says Taft will sit on the party's pro tempore board as Director for the Kootenay Region until the BC First founding Convention to be held in the spring of 2011, at which point a permanent board will be elected by the members.

In the wake of both the Liberal and NDP Parties ousting their leaders in recent weeks, Taft said the time is right for a third major party in B.C. to capitalize on the disillusionment felt by many voters.

"I think the majority of British Columbians are looking for a third alternative because the mainline parties are losing the support of the average voter."

Taft said B.C. First will be a free enterprise, entrepreneurial-orientated party that respects the value of social programs and will not lose sight of the most vulnerable members of society.

BC first is a "reasonable centrist party" that will not be captive to big business or big labour, he said. "Our goal will be to represent the average person and give them a political party that they can feel comfortable with."

The party will hold a convention early next year for all its members province-wide at which time it will flesh its policies out, Taft said. "We will be looking for BC solutions for BC problems and the solutions we find don't necessarily have to be what everyone else is doing."

Taft said his task now is to start recruiting members for the four provincial ridings in the Kootenays and to get other organizers on the ground. Anyone interested in getting involved should check the BC First website or contact him at taft.gerry@gmail.com.

All four Kootenay ridings are vulnerable because in the last provincial election many Kootenay voters "weren't happy with the Liberals or the NDP and were voting against a party they disliked instead of a party they supported," Taft said.

Kootenay East will be a "very interesting" riding in the next election because no one is sure what former Liberal Party incumbent Bill Bennett is going to do," he said.

"Will he go federal, rejoin the Liberals, continue as an independent or join another party," Taft said.

As for his tender age in politics, Taft said he doesn't think it makes a difference. ""I find in a serious conversation it doesn't take long for the age thing to just fall off the plate."