Wai Young is going to officially announce that she is running to become the next mayor of Vancouver.

The former Conservative MP for Vancouver is scheduled to launch her campaign Thursday (June 21).

A media release from her camp describes the Hong Kong-born and Vancouver-raised politician as a “serious” candidate for mayor.

“She has 35 years of experience finding solutions to numerous complex issues involving diverse community members and groups in Vancouver,” according to the release. “Wai has a deep respect for the voice of everyday Vancouverites. She has a track record of bringing people together to create the best solutions for the communities she has worked with.”

The votewaiyoung.ca website recalls that as the only Conservative MP elected in the city in 2011, Young championed several projects as a member of the governing party at the time.

These include the Killarney Seniors Centre, which is expected to open this month. Another is the redevelopment of the Kitsilano Neighbourhood House.

Her work for the funding of the Salvation Army’s Deborah’s Gate program to help victims of human trafficking was also mentioned.

Wai was raised in Vancouver since the age of four. She graduated from Killarney Secondary School, and earned a degree in sociology from UBC.

According to the site, Young spent over 30 years working and volunteering with community agencies such as YWCA Vancouver. She was also a former native youth worker at the Downtown Eastside.

Young is a mother of twins, and a foster parent to seven children, three of whom were refugees.

Young earlier planned to seek the nomination of the Non-Partisan Association (NPA), signing up members for her bid.

However, Young withdrew from the NPA race. A group called Coalition Vancouver is supporting her campaign.

On June 14, Research Co. released the results of its online survey about voters’ preferences for the next city mayor.

Of the eight contenders, Young placed last with the support of only three percent of the respondents.

Young is obviously not discouraged by polls.

Her camp’s media release about her June 21 campaign launch states: “Wai has every intention of winning.”