The BC Liberal Leadership election is expected to be a tight one.
Todd Stone, Micheal de Jong, Diane Watts, Andrew Wilkinson, Michael Lee and Sam Sullivan are all vying for the party’s top job.
Northern BC MLA John Rustad is throwing his support behind Wilkinson and explains why he’s best suited for the position.
“He has worked as a doctor in Dease Lake, Lliooett and Campbell River, he’s also worked as a lawyer in Vancouver and was the party president from 1998-2001, which was a significant period where the Reform Party joined forces with the BC Liberals,”
Much like Wilkinson, Rustad is against electoral reform in BC.
“I am dead set against electoral reform because when you look at what it means, particularly for northern BC but right across the province you lose your accountability as an MLA to your constituents. In proportional representation, you have people who are elected that are not accountable, they aren’t direct to a riding or constituency and at the end of the day after the election, all the campaign promises are thrown out.”
“I look at British Columbia, we are one of the best jurisdictions in the world, we’ve got an incredibly strong economy, what is it we’re trying to change? things are working really well in this province and the people will see that.”
Even if Wilkinson doesn’t get elected as leader, Rustad will be able to work any one of the six candidates.
Once the dust settles, its extremely key the new party leader has full support from the remaining members.
“It’s really up in the air, it’s hard to say who is going to be coming out on top but I look forward to the results and I think it will be a good opportunity for our party to renew and present to the public a good, solid alternative to the NDP.”
A new leader will be selected on Saturday.
The BC Liberals have been searching for an heir apparent since Christy Clark decided to step down last summer.