Now that the 5 "legitimate" candidates for the BC Liberal Party Leadership have announced (Dr. Moira Stilwell, George Abbott, Mike De Jong, Kevin Falcon and Christy Clark), I'm now prepared to say who has my vote and I'll go through my analysis as to why each candidate can or can not have my support:
Dr. Moira Stilwell - Having been just elected to provincial office in 2009, I believe Dr. Stilwell has much to learn before becoming a leader of a provincial political party. She hasn't even held a role within the BC Liberal Party Caucus at the BC Legislature (ie - Caucus Whip, Government/Deputy Government House Leader...). No, I don't believe she is truly ready to lead
Kevin Falcon - Mr. Falcon was elected in 2001 in the BC Liberal "sweep" over the BC NDP and since then, has held a variety of posts including Minister of State - Deregulation & Minister of Transportation and Minister of Health. Mr. Falcon's campaign launch was well done. And I respect his ability to capture the voters' hearts & minds - I fear that Mr. Falcon gives the impression that he is "Gordon Campbell, Jr" and we all know we don't need another Gordon Campbell in the Premier's office. Some of his campaign promises are impressive (changes to the provincial Agricultural Land Commission mandate), in addition to his BC Liberal Caucus supporters which number 12. My good friend Steven Puhallo is a strong supporter of Mr. Falcon and though he'll be disappointed in my choice, I hope that both he and I can come back together to ensure the BC NDP do not become government in 2013
George Abbott - Mr. Abbott was elected in 1996 after a long career in local government with the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District including time as its' Chair. He is also a Political Science Professor and owner of a berry farm in the Shuswap area. He has held posts such as Ministers of Health, Aboriginal Affairs, Local Government Affairs. His campaign launch was low-key as his stops in the province been low-key with the media. Again, some of his campaign promises and positions are ones I agree (not calling a snap election). Again, one of my former friends Chris Sandve is helping Mr. Abbott's campaign and he too will be disappointed in my choice but hopefully we'll come together as a team to help re-elect the BC Liberals' for a 4th time. I have no doubt that Mr. Abbott would be a great Premier but he doesn't have the tenacity against a strong BC NDP after April 17th, 2011, but would make a very strong Deputy Premier
Mike De Jong - Mr. De Jong was elected as well in 1996. He is a lawyer by trade and has been Minister of Forests, and Aborginal Affairs & Attorney-General. His campaign launch rivaled Kevin's Falcon leadership bid launch but his "Open Mike" initiative is very impressive as he is setting the tone that BC Liberal Party supporters have the answer and not himself. Having met Mr. De Jong personally, it pains me to say that I do not believe that he would be the right choice for the BC Liberal Party Leader, at this time, but would make a very strong Minister, but primarily because he, along with Kevin Falcon and George Abbott are connected to the HST and we, as BC Liberals, must elect an individual who has no connection to the HST
Christy Clark - Ms. Clark was elected in 1996, as well. In 2001, she was elected in Port Moody and held the post of Minister of Education and Deputy Premier as well as Minister of Children and Families. She also gave birth to a son, Hamish, in the 2001-2005 term. In 2005, she decided not to seek re-election to give more time to her family. Since then, she has gone on to become a radio host with CKNW (and do a good job at it). Her campaign launch was high-key with lots of media coverage and I'm sure all of the other BC Liberal Leadership Candidates were left in awe. She was in the Cariboo on Dec 9th and unlike Mr. De Jong, Ms. Clark's first words were about the rejected Prosperity Mine and the need to expeditiously move on it to turn a "no" into a "yes". She's also talked about the need for a "Family First" agenda and move the HST issue back into the BC Legislature for a free vote (note - Fight HST proponents have said this move will likely kill all recalls). She is warm, compassionate and media-savvy, something that dogged Gordon Campbell for the 17 years as BC Liberal Party Leader. And finally, she is not connected to the HST debacle and she would be seen as "credible" in the voters' minds. Some have said that she has no BC Liberal MLA support while George Abbott has 13 MLA's in his corner with Kevin Falcon having 12 BC Liberal MLA supporters. I'm not too sure MLA support translates into BC Liberal Party Member votes
Bottom Line - selecting anyone other than Christy Clark is a huge mistake and wasted opportunity and that is why I'm proud to say I'm now a Christy Clark supporter. I might add that both former Williams Lake Mayors' Scott Nelson and Walt Cobb are Christy Clark supporters' as well
SBF
2 comments:
Hello Steve ... sorry but I don't buy Christy Clark as leader.
Here's what have others said:
… a well-honed ambition does not necessarily translate into performance at the cabinet table. As education minister, she launched many initiatives but delivered on few, and lost a key battle with the B.C. Teachers' Federation over control of the College of Teachers.
"She was energetic with a lot of ideas -- some of which were positive," said Gordon Comeau, head of the school trustees, on the day in early 2004 when the premier shuffled Clark out of education. "But her energy sometimes created conflict in the system that is still there now."
… her second chance was the ministry of children and family development -- "Why me?" Clark was quoted as saying when Campbell gave her the news. Six months later she was gone telling the premier she was quitting cabinet and would not be seek re-election.
… if she runs for Lib leader, she'll face tough queries about Railgate and the HST.
Here's what I say:
We’ve had flash / razzle / dazzle … we’ve had top down directive from the Premiere to MLA’s … and we’ve had political parties / leaders who have said & promised just about anything to get elected. What we have not had are MLA’s that are given the freedom to truly represent their constituents, and the best needs of the ridings they come from.
If Christy Clark becomes leader of the BC Liberals – and by extension the next premier – I do not believe she has what it will take to give Liberal MLA’s that kind of freedom.
It doesn’t matter who ends up as party leader because swinging the pendulum from left to right, Liberals to NDP, is not going to make one bit of difference. Only one party in BC has a core belief that government must be accountable to voters. The BC Conservatives are committed to providing a home for men and women of all walks of life who want lower taxes, a stronger economy and greater accountability.
When we next go to the polls in 2013 our province needs a new conservative government with new ideas and common sense solutions. We don’t need more of the NDP – or the Liberal’s – no matter who is leading them.
Christy's ties to the federal Liberals took her out of the equation for me, and her Family First/Everyone Else Second platform isn't what I'm looking for policy wise. BC Rail looks like it will be an issue for her, and I think judgment and the ability to last a campaign without messing up will ultimately cost her the leadership.
Falcon is a good ideological fit for me, but I look at George Abbott's CV and back story as well as his record and demeanour and I have rarely if ever seen such a well qualified candidate for leadership of a party.
This guy doesn't make many mistakes and has most support in caucus, the people who know him and work with him every day. Not only can he win the leadership, but as a moderate he has the best chance of winning an election. It's his time.
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