Tony Nobody may be about to become a somebody - unless the provincial New Democrat brass gets in the way. Last week, the former federal Liberal non-candidate announced he would be running for the New Democrat nod in Burnaby-Willingdon before promptly going on vacation. But despite that unorthodox election strategy, Mr. Kuo actually stands a chance of winning the nomination, as was observed by one of our readers. In fact, according to the Burnaby Now's Dan Hilborn, the constituency association's membership has increased from 200 to 1,300, with many of the signups suspected of being Kuo supporters. So, not surprisingly, our spies tell us some of the big brains at party headquarters have been ruminating on what to do about Mr. Kuo and his insta-member invasion.

But here's the rub: when Mr. Kuo was denied an opportunity to run for the Liberal nomination in Burnaby Douglas during the last election, he cried racism. And Jack Layton, the leader of the New Democrat's federal wing, supported that claim, saying "In particular, (my wife) Olivia and I have noticed members of the Chinese community have been pushed out (of the Liberals). There has been notes taken in the Chinese community across the country about what's happening here." So, if the New Democrats do put the kybosh on Mr. Kuo's nomination bid, they'll need to find some way of avoiding accusations of racism and hypocrisy. Expect an announcement on the issue shortly.