Gwen O'Mahony

Her first campaign, in the 2009 election, had limited budget as the NDP preferred not to invest heavily in a riding they had no expectation of winning. Which meant it was mostly her and her campaign manager. They lost the election to the B.C. Liberal incumbent, Barry Penner. With Mr. Penner's resignation in January 2012, the equation changed. Low on the polls due to its move adopting the HST, and the B.C. Conservatives were eating into the Liberals' vote base. This gave the NDP the opportunity to replace Mr. Penner. Ms. O'Mahony put up a fight and won the party nomination. Top party officials sent in veteran organizers. A large campaign office was set up and over 200 campaign staff worked the phones and distributed signs and leaflets. On April 19, she won the difficult by-election which meant packed campaign party where she was toasted with champagne and was asked to get ready for media interviews starting at 6 a.m. the following day.

O'Mahony was previously the party's candidate in Chilliwack-Hope in the 2009 provincial election, as well as running federally for the New Democrats in Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon in the 2011 federal election. In the 2013 provincial election, O'Mahony was defeated by BC Liberal Party candidate Laurie Throness, the same Liberal candidate she had faced in the 2012 by-election. In 2021, O'Mahony unsuccessfully sought the federal NDP nomination for Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

Gwen O'Mahony (born November 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, who represented Chilliwack-Hope in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from April 2012 until April 2013 as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party.