Langley will see one of the three main provincial party leaders running for office, with BC Conservative John Cummins officially on the ballot.

Cummins, who has lived in Langley for more than two years, announced on the weekend that he will contest the Langley riding held by Liberal MLA and transportation minister Mary Polak.

Cummins has been overseeing the B.C. Conservative Party. A longtime MP for the Reform and federal Conservative parties, Cummins was elected leader of the upstart provincial party in 2011.

The decision was made some time ago for Cummins to run here for the May 14 election, he said.

Cummins, whose party is running third in the polls, is looking forward to taking on the Liberals.

"I think there's a lot of baggage when it comes to the BC Liberals," Cummins said.

An upcoming provincial budget and the removal of the HST are still dogging them, Cummins said.

He also pointed to problems with their infrastructure projects, particularly the new Port Mann Bridge.

"It may be the widest bridge in the world, but it's also the most troublesome right now," Cummins said.

The issues with ice bombs and the bridge's cable design remind him of the problems the NDP had with the Fast Ferries in the 1990s, he said.

The B.C. Conservatives are promising to end budget deficits and to encourage natural resource development in rural and northern areas.

Locally, Cummins said one of the issues he's most engaged with is rail traffic.

The long waits at major roads as large trains pass through central Langley, to and from Deltaport, are still a serious issue, and Cummins said he isn't sure the overpasses now under construction are the best way to solve things.

Although it's a long shot, Cummins said moving much of the traffic to other lines, including the one running through North Langley, should be seriously considered.

He also favours considering a local rapid transit line along the same tracks. The tracks were originally the route for the B.C. Electric Railway from the 1910s to the 1950s.

When it comes to local appearances during the campaign in April and May, Cummins will have to schedule carefully.

He's planning to be travelling the province for much of the campaign as the Conservative leader, but he hopes to make it to local all-candidates debates.

Although he's seen challenges to his leadership, Cummins said he doesn't see that as a problem now.

With social media "it's easy to create a firestorm if you want," Cummins said.

Along with two-time MLA Polak, Cummins will be facing Andrew Mercier, the NDP candidate.

Mercier is best known locally for managing the federal campaign of Piotr Majkowski in 2011.

"I've been looking forward to the race," Mercier said.

The NDP candidate said he isn't that concerned about running against a party leader.

"We're more focused on our positive message," said Mercier.

The local strategy for the NDP is to get out there and meet as many voters as possible, by phone or in person.

"We've door-knocked every day in 2013," Mercier said.

Mercier also sees bridge tolls, infrastructure, and the HST as big issues for people in the Langley riding.

The provincial NDP has been consistently ahead in the polls for the past several years, with the Liberals trailing badly since a series of controversies, especially the implementation of the HST, which is now being phased out in favour of the PST and GST.

Polak did not respond to the Langley Advance's request for comments by deadline.

Langley's other riding, Aldergrove-Fort Langley, is held by deputy premier Rich Coleman, who is being challenged by the NDP's Shane Dyson.

mclaxton@langleyadvance.com