Premier Resigns

Wednesday, November 03, 2010 11:39 AM

Prince George, B.C. - B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell has announced that he is resigning...

The embattled leader of the province announced his decision to leave the post of premier at a news conference in Vancouver this morning. Campbell says he has asked the B.C. Liberal party to call a leadership convention as quickly as possible.

The following is Gordon Campbell's statement:

“After considerable soul searching and discussion with my family I have decided to ask the BC Liberal Party executive to hold a leadership convention at the earliest possible date to select a new leader for our party.

“Over the last few weeks, our government has continued to move forward with initiatives that will create jobs, build a stronger economy and support families across British Columbia. We made the second-largest reduction in personal income taxes in B.C. history. We launched new initiatives that will tailor our education system so that children get the best possible opportunity to succeed.

“Yet it is clear to me that those initiatives are being overshadowed. When public debate becomes focused on one person, instead of what is in the best interest of British Columbians, we have lost sight about what is important. When that happens, it’s time for a change.

“This decision is what I believe is in the best interest of British Columbia, our government, our party and the people of our province. At a time like this, everyone’s attention should be focused on helping our economy rebound from the global recession and moving forward with an agenda that families can see is in their long-term interest.

“It’s time for a new person to lead. I am asking the party to move as quickly as possible to organize a leadership convention. I intend to ensure a smooth and orderly transition. My goal is to return public attention to what is important to British Columbians – their jobs, their families and how government can best support them.

“That is what the decision on the HST was all about. I hope that my announcement today will allow British Columbians to move forward and fully consider the HST and the alternative on their merits between now and September 2011.

“It's not always popular to do what you believe in your heart is right. But whether it was restoring B.C.’s economic leadership, leading the way on climate action, building a new relationship with First Nations, getting our fiscal house in order, opening up our Pacific Gateway or making our taxation system one of the most competitive in North America, it was always worth the effort and I am proud of what we’ve accomplished together.

“I want to thank all of those who have supported me and my government through one of the most exciting yet challenging times in our province's history. I want to thank my colleagues and those who stood for election. I want to thank the dedicated workers in the public service who have led B.C. in so many ways. I want to thank the people of British Columbia for the opportunity to serve.

“And finally, if you will allow me a personal note, I want to thank all my family, especially my wife Nancy. They all paid a price for my 26 years in public service. Politics can be a very nasty business and at times that spilled over, through no fault of their own, to all of my family. I am sorry for that and I want to thank them all for their support and love.

“I have always felt public life is important. It is what defines us as British Columbians and as Canadians. I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to serve in this position longer than most of my predecessors and to have been a part of this incredible time in B.C. history.

“It’s been quite a run and more fun than not. I have always been motivated by what is best for this great province and this great country.

“Thank you. It’s been a privilege.”

-----------------------------------------------------

The party's annual convention is set to begin on Friday, November 19th in Penticton.

Campbell's resignation comes one week after his live televised address to the province, announcing a 15-percent reduction in personal income tax. A day later, the premier spoke with the Meisner program and said he had no plans to walk away in the middle of the challenging times he was facing.

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Posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2010 11:39 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: News2me on November 3 2010 11:47 AM

Excellent!

Posted by: rambleon on November 3 2010 11:50 AM

Next in News: NDPers change stance from "Gordo is a coward for not resigning" to "Gordo is a coward for resigning."

Posted by: BCRacer on November 3 2010 11:51 AM

The rat is abandoning the sinking ship..
can't say as I am going to miss him...even a little...

Posted by: WillowArune on November 3 2010 11:55 AM

My goodness. What a nice way to start the day! He has lost the support of the electors.

Posted by: BCRacer on November 3 2010 11:56 AM

The questions that are raised now are.. do we believe that we are still getting a tax reduction, or if the HST is voted down will the new government honor it or will they claim that Campbell over stepped his bounds and put us right back where we were awhile ago or are now....

Posted by: Rounder on November 3 2010 12:06 PM

It's a smart move by the Liberals - should have done this last week on TV.

Now the question is what member of the Liberal party will save the party as the new leader.

Posted by: Old Hippy on November 3 2010 12:09 PM

Good ridance. I can't remember any premier or party that has done more harm to the average citizen. Some of his proudest moments were the sale of BCR, many tax cuts for big business, carbon tax, HST, many hidden taxes and user fees and the famous raid on the legislature and many cuts to senior programs. I won't miss him one bit. All we have to do now is get rid of the rest of his party. I hope the recall campaign still goes ahead as the party that ignored 700,000 people still insists that it is good for us. Verbal diahrea at it's best. I

Posted by: faxman on November 3 2010 12:13 PM

Pat Bell for Premier!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: gus on November 3 2010 12:16 PM

"He has lost the support of the electors."

He may have. But the clincher is that he has lost the support of his caucus as was apparent in the last few days.

Posted by: gus on November 3 2010 12:17 PM

It is a wise wise man who knows when to step down. Campbell waited far too long.

Posted by: gus on November 3 2010 12:18 PM

Totally agree with you Rounder....

Posted by: Skeezix on November 3 2010 12:21 PM

Best news I've heard. Too bad he waited so long. What a hooible mess for someone to clean up though. You've brightened a lot of peoples day Gordo...Good Riddance!!

Posted by: gus on November 3 2010 12:23 PM

Totally agree with you Rounder....

Posted by: He spoke on November 3 2010 12:32 PM

I like to drive on highways, when I get sick or hurt, I like my hospitals there. I like to see the kids edumucated.

HST is a good consumer tax,

Campbell, As I said it four or five months ago, he will be the designated fall guy for the tax.

Thanks for pulling us out of the Socialist idealism. Thank You Gordon for putting BC #1.

Thank you for recognizing that the needs of the province is greater than the needs of feeding your ego.

Posted by: He spoke on November 3 2010 12:35 PM

he is not walking away from challenging times. He has recognized that the party needs a new leader. It takes a big man to realize that your not the right man to keep the momentum going. I doubt most of us fail to recognize this,

Thank you Gordon, for your insight in making us the best province to live in.

Posted by: PGDriver on November 3 2010 12:44 PM

Well no one is perfect and he did a lot of good things, but it was time for a change.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on November 3 2010 12:51 PM

"Pat Bell for Premier".
Not a chance, faxman.
Bell is too closely aligned with Gordon Campell and his inner circle of very distastful and unpopular people.
From Colin Hansen on down the line,Campbell's top minister's lack of popularity will no doubt ensure the parties defeat in the next election.
As well,any interm leader who steps up and assumes Campbell's job, will run the risk of political oblivion in the next election.
I doubt there will be a lineup, but there may be a few sacrificial lambs.
Any government as unpopular as this one, has little hope for recovery.
Call it the Rita Johnston/Kim Campbell syndrome.
Campbell stayed much too long at the fair,and now the entire party will pay the price for that.
Most of all,they just plain forgot to listen to what the voters were telling them.
Bad idea that!

Posted by: He spoke on November 3 2010 1:00 PM

If Pat was to throw his name in the ring, I think he would do this for aligning himself to support the next leader.

Shirley, does not have the charisma to pull it off. She works hard, but she gets crapped on by everyone.

Colin Hansen, I hope not.

Posted by: Huh? on November 3 2010 1:02 PM

Just kind of curious of the good Campbell has done? And what is BC #1 for? As far as I'm concerned Campbell drove us straight into the toilet. Fortunately for the rest of the liberal party, BC voters seem to forget fast. They could make it back in before we have begun healing from this last disaster.

Posted by: Huh? on November 3 2010 1:06 PM

Shirley's a disaster. Look at the crappy job she is doing now!! Pat might be a good choice but we should leave him where he's at, getting the forestry and mining going pretty good. At least going in the right direction!

Posted by: Rounder on November 3 2010 1:22 PM

Ralph Klein.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on November 3 2010 1:22 PM

Colin Hansen...HAHAAHHA!...not chance in hell.
George Abbott...Not a chance.!
Kevin Falcon...Definitely NO!
Shirly Bond...NO!
Pat Bell...NO!
Margaret McDairmid...NO!
Bill Bennett...Not enough support.
Blair Lexstrom...again,not enough party support.
Diane Watts, as an outsider,is too localized on the lower mainland.
Carole Taylor won't run...she got her plum job.
The list goes on,which is why I doubt recovery is even possible for this government.
The heavy weights are not going to run anyway.
They know what is very likely to happen.
Campbell's inner circle of pet ministers,with the exception of perhaps Bell,Lexstrom,and Bennett,are known to be bullies.
That makes them lame ducks from the get go.
It has been a long time,if ever,that we have seen so many unpopular politicians in one government.
Most extremely unpopular polticians take a lifetime in politics to get to where these people are in only 9 years!
That does not bode well for the Liberals.
They do have a very serious problem!

Posted by: ammonra on November 3 2010 1:33 PM

When the new leader of the Liberals, and not to forget, the new Premier of the province is chosen do we get to have an election. The person choasen will not have a mandate from the voters, and usually this is required for legitimacy. Can we have an election next summer?

Posted by: lynne on November 3 2010 1:38 PM

I AM GLAD HE HAS RESIGNED, BUT HE SHOULD HAVE DONE IT A LONG TIME AGO BEFORE EVERY THING IS IN A MESS.LETS NOT FORGET WHEN WE VOTE AGAIN THE THINGS THE LIBERALS HAVE DONE.REMEBER ALL THAT WAS SAID ABOUT THE FAST CATS, THESE GUYS ARE THE SAME MAYBE EVEN WORSE.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on November 3 2010 1:43 PM

We could have an election as early as next spring ammonra,but my guess is that it won't happen.
Once again.the Liberals will drag things out for a long as possible, in hopes of recovering some popularity.
They run the risk of political oblivion in the next election, and I doubt they will be in any hurry to face the voters.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on November 3 2010 1:45 PM

"Can we have an election next summer?"

The answer is no.

Neither Dan Miller nor Ujjal Dosanjh had a mandate from the voters when they took over as premiers - there were no ELECTIONS! Using the logic of your comment they were both illegitimate leaders! When Clark took over from Harcourt - same thing, no election BEFORE he took over, ipso ergo also illegitimate!

Good for the goose = good for the gander!

Posted by: porter on November 3 2010 2:22 PM

I hope the liberals can gain back some popularity. And Ammonra... why would they try an election now? It would be political suicide.

Huh,

Wasnt' there a world wide economic meltdown recently? How can everything be blamed on Campbell? He was far from perfect, but, we aren't doing that bad.

Posted by: ammonra on November 3 2010 2:23 PM

Miller was an interim leader until a permanent leader could be chosen, so the call for an election was not appropriate in his case. For the other two, an election was called within a reasonable time after they were chosen as leader. I did not specify "before" they were elected, as that would be unreasonable. There should certainly be an election very soon after the new leader of the Liberal party is selected.

Nevertheless, a good twist of what I called for.

Posted by: Rounder on November 3 2010 2:31 PM

Trevor Linden.

Then the party can implement the following into the Legislature to save the party:

- Increase minimum wage to $9.99.
- Roll back HST to 10% immediately.
- Hold HST referendum on March 1, 2011.

Posted by: alex1212 on November 3 2010 2:31 PM

you sob !!!!! in no way this sob is finished !! this man is a criminal and knows it !!!!! if we the people of bc let this go we are all fools !! stop this man from doing the harm and getting rewareded !! again you fin sob !!!!!!

Posted by: zyblxteu on November 3 2010 2:35 PM

Lets all roll another one ,heehaw.
It's a wonderful day!

Posted by: seamutt on November 3 2010 2:44 PM

He Spoke said"It takes a big man to realize that your not the right man", if he was a big man then he would have quit when picked up for drunck driving.

Porter, so bad world economy is the excuse for Campbell's dismal failure but not an excuse when the asian economy tanked for the NDP.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on November 3 2010 2:51 PM

"For the other two, an election was called within a reasonable time after they were chosen as leader."

A spin beats a twist every time.

The "reasonable time" is the time called for by law. The law says that the election will be in May 1013. You know it, I know it.

Of course if the new leader wants to call an election before that it would also be lawful.

"...and usually this is required for legitimacy."

No, it isn't.

Posted by: Rounder on November 3 2010 2:54 PM

The new leader of the party would have to have a seat in the Legislature, correct? Or they would have to force someone to give up their seat and hold a by-election.

I believe that is the right way.

Posted by: seamutt on November 3 2010 3:00 PM

I picked this up elsewhere-
One wonders to which corporate entity (ies) he will tie his wagon as a Director. That will be most telling,

Posted by: Jimmi on November 3 2010 3:37 PM

8 years too late...

Posted by: P Val on November 3 2010 3:43 PM

I am another one who is glad that he stepped down.. He did a few good things for BC but the bad ones where doozies..

What is really going to be pathetic now is listening to all his public opponents saying what a good guy he was...and how he only had our interest at heart..blah blah blah.. while yesterday they where all saying hang him high..

Posted by: wendy s on November 3 2010 4:08 PM

why NOT Pat Bell for premier?
think about it before knee-jerk reaction
SOMEONE is going to get the job
he is a nice guy, from the North, no dirt attached including HST
remember every other dark horse who came up through the middle? - Stephane Dion, Glen Clark, Obama

Posted by: acopolympics on November 3 2010 4:58 PM

"no dirt attached including HST
" - really? Seems to me he didn't listen to his electorate very closely and simply toed the party line on the HST, that alone would cause me to definately not back him for premier. Isn't it Bell who owns the Wendys in town? Coincidence or what.

Posted by: my2bits on November 3 2010 5:16 PM

Porter, you are right that Campbell cannot be blamed for the world recession.

However, for 10 years the whole world was in a boom, yet Campbell wants to take credit for B.C.'s economy during that time.

You can't have it both ways.

Posted by: porter on November 3 2010 5:22 PM

my2bits,

touche.

Posted by: Eagleone on November 3 2010 6:17 PM

Long over due... can't wait for the recalls to start... the rest of the party stood side by side with him through all of his anti democratic moves against the people of BC. They all deserve the same fate... they had their chance to stand up and be heard and they choose not to.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on November 3 2010 6:38 PM

"One wonders to which corporate entity (ies) he will tie his wagon as a Director. That will be most telling,"

He won't be hitching his wagon to Jimmy Pattison first and later Canfor, like Glen Clark did after stepping down...after he saw the light!

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on November 3 2010 6:48 PM

"Wasnt' there a world wide economic meltdown recently? How can everything be blamed on Campbell? He was far from perfect, but, we aren't doing that bad."

CTV said tonight that Campbell took over a have-not-status province from the NDP and he has made it into the economically soundest province in Canada.

-----------------------------------------

"However, for 10 years the whole world was in a boom, yet Campbell wants to take credit for B.C.'s economy during that time."

What a riot of a statement! Obviously you have not heard of or noticed the huge mortgage meltdown in the USA and the meltdown of banks on a global scale, causing a depression which is being compared to the Great Depression and from which the USA has still not recovered!

The whole world has been booming???

OMG.

Posted by: Palopu on November 3 2010 8:06 PM

Ammmonra. In answer to your question.

Here is a excerpt from the role of the Lieutenant Governer in BC.

**The lieutenant Governor is also responsible for ensuring there is a first Minister in the Province at all times. At any time, when the position of First Minister is vacant because of death or resignation, after defeat in a Provincial Election or the result of a non-confidence motions in the Legislature, the Lieutenant Governor must either dissolve the House or call upon someone else to become First Minister and try to form a viable Government.**

So it would seem that once Campbell resigns he must be replaced with an interim Premier, however if there is no interim Premier appointed, then the Govener could in fact dissolve the Legislature and call an election. So in effect if the Government of the day wanted an election they could just not appoint anyone to take over as Premier, and once the date of Campbells resignation arrived, the Governer could dissolve the Legislature and we would have an election. This would be one way of having an election before the **legal** date of 2013.

Posted by: faithfulreader on November 3 2010 9:32 PM

Very interesting comments.
What do we get now? NDP is out of the question with Carol James at the helm. She's no Dave Barrett. Who I respect.

I think there are some smart Liberals; perhaps we'll be lucky enough to get one.
Not to say Gordon wasn't a smart man. He is. The arrogance took over. They lied to us about B.C. Rail and the HST.
I still think the B.C. Rail thing is going to explode. Basi and Virk were paid off handsomely to plead guilty, end the court case so no higher ups could be named. Many palms were greased in this one. That one was really nasty and permeates the highest office in the Province. Basi and Virk weren't the ones that decided to sell B.C. Rail.
Is that why he resigned? Could be.
Basi has already breached his probation. He is displaying total arrogance and disregard of our court system because he knows he can expose the whole thing about B.C.Rail. Why do our courts tolerate this? Who knows? Appointed I guess. A job is a job.
Anyone know anything I don't?

Posted by: Junco on November 3 2010 11:12 PM

Ding Dong the witch is dead.

Posted by: Eagleone on November 4 2010 6:43 AM

Yes the whole world was booming on the carry trade and the cheep free money interest rates that ultimately was connected to the mortgage meltdown, but the meltdown ponzi didn't mature until the end of 2008... and we all know Gordon Campbell at that time went from telling us we had a balanced budget at election time to having in actuality a $2.5 Billion dollar deficit. So much for managing the economy.... he rode the good years and got caught with his pants down when things turned... then tried to bail out his horrible fiscal forecasts with a $1.6 Billion dollar bribe bailout from the federal government.