Liberal Acclaimed as Speaker
Prince George, B.C. – “We are disappointed in his decision.”That is the reaction from Interim Liberal leader Rich Coleman, after fellow Liberal, Darryl Plecas, the MLA for Abbottsford -South was acclaimed Speaker of the House.
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At right Darryl Plecas in garb of Speaker image courtesy Govt if BC)
Plecas was the only member of the House to put his name forward for the position ( which pays $157 thousand a year) . No member of the NDP or Green Party applied for the post.
“Every member of the Legislative Assembly has the right to run for the position of Speaker. And every member has an obligation to conduct themselves in a fashion that honours their position as an elected representative ” says Coleman, interim leader of the Opposition.
“On several occasions, Mr. Plecas has made clear to me and the BC Liberal Caucus that he would not seek the Office of Speaker” says Coleman “We took him at his word and believed that he would stand by his commitment. We are disappointed in his decision.”
Plecas made headlines a little over a month ago when he went public about his opposition to Christy Clark continuing on as leader of the party. Shortly after that heated Liberal Caucus meeting, Christy Clark announced she was stepping down from her post as Party Leader, and resigning her seat in the Legislature.
Her resignation and the Plecas move to be Speaker, means the Legislature numbers now stack up this way:
NDP 41
Greens 3
Liberals 41
There has been no date for a by-election in Clark’s riding of Kelowna-West
Comments
Traitor, our very own Benedict Arnold.
Sorry, but hard to have any respect for man that is willing to compromise the party he represent, a little bit of short sightedness in my opinion. I am sure he will justify his decision, but when you loose credibility in politics, you loose it all.
Nice to see someone having a mind of their own.
Last time it was an NDP member.
The speaker controls the House, simple as that.
If there is a tie vote, the speaker has a vote to break the tie.
The present governing parties will continue to govern, no matter who the speaker is as long as they make sure everyone is there to vote.
The BCLiberals need to get that additional seat that Clark vacated. That is the number one hole they must fix before complaining about useless things.
No matter how one looks the possible numbers, the Greens are still in charge. It is not going to change until they decide they do not like it and do a John McCain and vote thumbs down on an NDP proposal.
The Liberal party of BC is self imploding…bwaaaaahhaaa
Benedict Arnold here in canada (British North America ) was a hero and was at the time decorated as such by the King of the British empire . It was only the rebels to the south that deemed him a traitor . See what a terrible analogy that was . History is much more interesting . You should try some .
All about serving himself and his wallet! No conscience and no respect!
No wonder people stay away from voting in elections! It is better to classify politicians as having no conscience, no credibility and being unworthy of respect, generally speaking! Then, when one encounters one who falls into the above category, there is no disappointment! And when one finds one who deserves respect and has credibility, one can be surprised and feel positive!
Or, he could just be of the opinion that the legislature should be given an opportunity to function as it is intended to function. In any case, tighty righty put downs are to be expected, as are the uplifting tones of mine, I suppose.
And you would have been singing the same tune had a member of the ndp stood for speaker and kept the liberals in power? Thought so.
Don’t look now but your hypocrisy is showing:D
Actually, I probably would not have responded at all. Frequently, I do not. As to my hypocrisy showing, I think you must be looking in a mirror.
WOW…I Cant believe how quiet all you Liberal mouth pieces are…if this was an NDP doing this you all would be going nuts…must all be at Costco getting your free samples
I’m a BCLiberal … but like the new speaker, have a mind of my own.
So quit calling people names … or should I call you an NDP mouthpiece and play tit for tat which ads absolutely nothing to the debate of whether Coleman was right, or Plecas, or even Clark with resigning before they are ready for a by-election.
Of course, there are other rational reasons for her resigning when she did to help the party elect a new leader without her present as the leader. It is the normal way it is done.
BTW, it is a nice day out without smoke and some sun before the predicted rain, so I will go back out to enjoy the early autumn day.
Free samples of Scott Tissues.
A couple of thoughts on this action by Daryl Plecas:
– it’s really hard to turn down an extra $50,000 per year plus perks.
– especially when he is already alienated from some of the other MLA’s in his party.
– his first allegiance is to his constituents, and as speaker he will still represent them, perhaps better than as an anonymous opposition back-bencher.
– Speaker has some authority and power, and he still might be a thorn in the side of the governing party.
– we elected 87 individuals to function as a government, not to play silly political games. This action will allow the government to function with a greater margin to accommodate the unexpected, until the next election.
CL
Actually, Mr. Plecas just said F$%^ to his constituents, his party and the rest of BC beyond Hope just so that he can fatten his wallet a little more off the taxpayer’s Teet.
My hope is that after the by-election, and the selection of a new leader, that Hoagy will do just enough to piss off Greener that an election will be forced.
At that time, I would hope that the party does Mr.Plecas the honour of refusing his nomination for re-election.
Rich Coleman is a dolt.
Can’t argue with that comment.
Plecas is only doing what Christy wanted to happen. Her words were the electorate wanted the members of the house to work together. Plecas took her at her word.
Hang on Rich you never know who else might want to cross the floor.
Shame, shame, shame Darryl Plecas has also betrayed all the people who supported him in his riding. Has he no concience??????
Wasn’t Christy the first , um , I’ve forgotten the name of them , to jump of the liberaltanic before it sank . Retired02 must be laughing his , um , thing off . Wouldn’t you love to see a BCliberal go Green . I wonder what colour Darryl is ? Orange ? Green ? Rich Coleman , the new face of the bcliberals . Shirley and Mikes new boss . What could possibly go wrong ?
Hey I like your analogy of y thoughts
Cheers
There was a job opening, it was a $50,000 year raise plus other perks.. he applied and got it. That’s it.
Actually he’s on record as saying he would never do what he has just done … basically a liar …
Isn’t politics swell
STUPID!!!
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