The
Kelowna
Capital News reported on May 23rd that Okanagan-Westside
MLA Rick Thorpe and Kelowna-Lake Country MLA John Weisbeck
have indicated they won't run again. Thorpe was recently
disgraced when responsibility for liquor distribution was
stripped from him and given to the Solicitor General. News
that he will not run again virtually guarantees that he
will be dumped from cabinet in the much anticipated July
cabinet shuffle. His departure might be good news for underperforming
Minister of Health Planning, Sindi Hawkins. Premier Campbell
might not want to risk dumping two cabinet ministers from
the Kelowna area when his government is under siege for
its plan to stick Interior residents with 55 more years
of higher tolls on the Coquihalla.
In former
times, passing the two year mark following an election would
mean that constituency associations would begin election
planning in anticipation of an election that could be called
in the near future. WAC Bennett had a preference for elections
every three or three and a half years. BC now has fixed
elections dates with the next trip to the polls scheduled
for May 17, 2005. That date will roll around very soon for
election planners. Knowing who is running again and who
is not will allow constituency associations to recruit new
candidates and plan nomination dates. It will take brave
souls to step forward and front for the Campbell government
in areas where local residents have been given the short
change with cutbacks, tolls and "restructurings".
When
a cabinet shuffle is imminent, it is common for a Premier
to ask his caucus who is not prepared to stand for reelection.
With a shuffle anticipated in the next two months, political
pundits will be looking for other MLAs to announce that
they are throwing in the towel. On the North Shore it is
widely anticipated that Minister of State Katherine Whittred,
who contributed to chaos for seniors, will be retiring in
2005 as will Dan Jarvis who is one of the few government
MLAs who doesn't receive extra pay for a make work project
of some sort. They have yet to make a formal announcement
but the upcoming shuffle may encourage them to clarify their
intentions before the Premier does it for them.
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