Christy Clark | Political Insider

Clark Cabinet: Stilwell and Sullivan Get Stiffed ! #bcpoli #bccabinet #canpoli

With a chance to start fresh and let bygones be bygones Premier Christy Clark has chosen to keep the hurt happening and stiff Dr. Moira Stillwell and Sam Sullivan out of cabinet positions in her new cabinet unveiled today.

Sullivan was a former mayor of Vancouver who has hands on experience with Government management and would have been a great fit with the new cabinet.

The handling of Dr.Stilwell leaves more to be desired in that if you recall she was a former BC Liberal leadership aspirant who was passed over in Clark’s first cabinet. She most recently served as a Minister of Social Development.

With her background Dr.Stilwell should have be named Minister of Health.

But no; In Clark’s world a former Environment Minister ( Terry Lake) is more qualified for that portfolio?

Could it be Clark is getting even for the good doctor speaking out over the premier’s transgression with the red light during the election?

This coming from a premier who spoke of respect in one of her opening lines in her speech?

There is about as much chance of Dr. Stilwell getting respect in BC Liberal circles as is their budget actually balancing.

Not going to happen.

If you are interested here is the list from today’s announcement:

Deputy Minister, Minister of Natural Gas Development and minister responsible for housing: Rich Coleman

Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation: John Rustad

Minister of Advanced Education: Amrik Virk

Minister of Agriculture: Pat Pimm

Minister of Children and Family Development: Stephanie Cadieux

Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development: Coralee Oakes

Minister of Education: Peter Fassbender

Minister of Energy and Mines and minister responsible for core review: Bill Bennett

Minister of Environment: Mary Polak

Minister of Finance and Government House Leader: Mike de Jong

Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations: Steve Thomson

Minister of Health: Terry Lake

Minister of International Trade, minister responsible for Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism: Teresa Wat

Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and minister responsible for labour: Shirley Bond

Minister of State for Tourism and Small Business: Naomi Yamamoto

Minister of Justice and Attorney General: Suzanne Anton

Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services: Andrew Wilkinson

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and deputy house leader: Todd Stone

Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation: Don McRae.

Coming up: Cabinet Day! #bcpoli #canpoli #bccabinet #christyClark #adriandix

Given His performance in the Recent election ,Clark should give him a cabinet post!

This is no ordinary cabinet day, it is being done with a twist.

Departing from usual tradition,The BC Liberal government is announcing their cabinet in Vancouver as opposed to stately Victoria.

Why? Is it because Clark thinks Victoria culture is so sick she wants to stay as afar away from that as possible or is it more likely she is looking for the grandiose photo-op to give her by-election a kick-start?

So what about the cabinet? Will it be large or small?

Given the BC Liberals propensity to spend money coupled with so many people wanting to get in , I would hedge my bets on large.

Who will get in?

Likely Coleman, Mike de Jong, Shirley Bond, Mary Polak and the usual suspects.

If Coleman has any say at all Peter Fassbender will be there to carry his water bucket.

What about Marvin Hunt,Amrik Virk,Suzanne Anton and a whole host of the new one term wonders elected this past May?

What about long time MLA’s Moira Stillwell ( Not to be confused with the other newly elected Stillwell) and Gordon Hogg. Where will they wind up?

What about Adrian Dix? Given his performance in that May election Clark should find a spot for him, after all he handed her the election on a silver platter.

Clark to Call By-Election in Westside-Kelowna!

As discussed earlier this week the by-election that the Premier hopes will catapult her into the house for a spring session will be called this afternoon.

It will be held in the riding of Westside-Kelowna.

As usual Alex G Tsakumis was bang on with his piece wherein he said it would be in this riding.

Well done Alex!

What will the BC Conservatives do?

Stay tuned….

BC Politics: The Week Ahead! #bcpoli #canpoli

Will somebody please step aside so I can call a by-election.

The first week of June is shaping up to be an interesting week in BC politics what with the official election results being finalized on June 5.

Premier Christy Clark has some interesting choices to make given she has said that she will name a cabinet later this week ( June 7) and decide what riding she wants to run in to attempt to get entry in the house. Astute political junkies will recall Clark lost her seat in the recent provincial election this past May 14th.

The most likely day for her to call the by-election would be Thursday June 6. Given Clark’s penchant for photo ops that day also happens to coincide with the 69th anniversary of DDay and would make a wonderful opportunity for her to call the election and claim in her heart she is a DDay vet.

She has to win this and of course she will. They will choose the easiest possible seat to run her in despite all the bravado from the NDP about running a candidate against them. (Actually they don’t all say that just some of them).

It is rumoured to be Fort Langley Aldergrove where current MLA Rich Coleman is purporting to be offering to step down. If true, Coleman will still have Peter Fassbender on the inside to watch over things while he gets ready to run for the leadership when Clark is dumped.

What about the BC Conservatives? That decision has not been made yet and will probably be made at an upcoming board meeting later this week. My take, shockingly, is that we should respect the mandate that the premier and her party have received from the people. That means I don’t think we should run a candidate. The party has a wonderful chance to hold this government accountable over the next few years. The NDP won’t,they will be to busy looking for ways to dump Dix and rebuild their own party.

The Premier has demonstrated over the past 2 years that while she is a good campaigner she is a terrible governor. ( Her pipeline announcement this week is an example of that,declaring opposition to the project even though all the tests haven’t been done)

You can bet at some point down the road the Premier and her team will come on board with the pipeline. It will happen about the same time as they come to the realization their balanced budget ( 2013 edition) is not really balanced and they need the revenue to save face. ( How do you spell HST anybody?)

For Clark, The bigger minefield lies with the choosing of her new cabinet. Usually the cabinet that is chosen gives you an idea of which direction the government is going.

In this case I would think that even though Clark has won a majority, the party will keep her on a short leash.( Remember she still has no seat and is a left leaning liberal in a caucus full of right leaning conservatives).

Think also to various gaffes Clark has made over the past few months. She ran a red light that was disclosed during the election. Caucus member and MLA Moira Stilwell spoke up against this. Stillwell is one of the brightest MLAs the party has. What will become of her?

Gordon Hogg took on Rich Coleman over the mess during the botched casino affair. What will happen to Him?

How many of the new MLA’s will be content to thank their lucky stars Adrian Dix and crew screwed up so badly and they got elected.

What if Clark decides to follow her Liberal ways and take the government even more left?( Remember they now agree with the NDP on the pipeline) What will become of the Conservative hopefuls in that BC Liberal Caucus?

Those who are not thrilled can always take out membership in the 8:01 club can’t they?

The week ahead in BC Politics is shaping up to be very interesting and the decisions made will shape the province for the next 4.5 years. ( Assuming the next election is in the fall to allow for proper budget debate)

Stay tuned, I will be here to dissect the different events as they unfold and thank you for reading!

The BC Liberals: One of the First Things they should do! #bcpoli #canpoli #@christyclark

Now that the numbers are settling in and the future looks fixed for the next 4.5 years with a BC Liberal majority (I say looks because this is BC and things can change in a heartbeat) what should the BC Liberals do?

They should run out and find a safe BC Liberal seat for their leader to run and try to regain entry into the legislature with right?

Not necessarily because there is no guarantee that she would win or that a new MLA in a safe seat would want to step down. (Do you really think Andrew Wilkinson or Gordon Hogg would want to fall on their sword for Clark?)

I think one of the first things they should do, now that the Green party of BC has won a seat, is to grant them official party status. It’s within the rules of the house to do that and would be the nice thing to do right?

Yes but they should do it but not because it’s nice or right, right. The BC Liberals should grant official party status because it would all but guarantee them election victory in 2017.

How?

If you believe as a lot of people do that the Green vote split caused the NDP to lose a number of seats they should have won, then granting them that status will allow them to get even stronger and split the vote in even more seats in the future.

It would allow Premier Clark to further distance herself from Gordon Campbell who refused the BCNDP Official party status after they were thrashed in the polls and reduced to 2 seats in 2001.( This staement assumes that Clark does not get 801’d by her own party even though she won an election)

Thirdly and just as important; is that this election was one the NDP should have won, not just because of the polls but because of all the scandals and mayhem caused by the Liberal party. It was BCNDP’s to lose and lose they did.

Furthermore, with the rise of the Green party, this election was probably the NDP’s best and last chance to win an election in this province.

Granting first party status to the Greens would make the turmoil that was seen in the NDP with the beheading of Carol James seem like a walk in the park.

That turmoil, if you believe the BCNDP is a provincial arm of their Federal party, would also extend itself into the next federal election in 2015.

That would benefit either of the forces in the BC Liberals, Conservative or Liberal.

Extending an olive branch to the Greens and granting them first party status would be a win win for a party who likes quick wins.

Premier Christy Clark: She Broke the Law and Lied about it!

One of these people broke the law and lied,do you know which one?

So Premier Christy Clark is once again in the news. This time for not only breaking the law but also for blatantly lying about it!

Clark,who went through a red light at 5:10 am one morning shrugged it off because of the time the in fraction occured. This from the Premier of the province who should know better.

Her shrugging off the infraction because of the time, sends a messgae to drug drivers, gang hit people and all other scoflaws that breaking the law is okay as long as you do it around 5 am when no one is apparently watching.

I can only imagine the bodies piling up as a result of the Premiers statement.

To make matters worse she blatantly lied about her statment and claimed she did not say that when it is clearly on video.

So our Premier, who is running in election 2013, thinks it’s okay not only break the law but cover it up!

On May 14, 2013 do British Columbia a favor, help the Premier pack her bags and vote her out of office.

Enough is enough!

Election Eve: Today’s BC Liberals Continue the Tradition and Break the Rules! #bcpoli #webelieveinbc #yvr #langley

So we are a half day or so away from the election and already the Liberals have been caught cheating by putting up election signs in public places.

While the City of Surrey is busy driving around removing the signs of the Christy Clark Today’s BC Liberal candidate in Surrey-Newton, Rich Coleman’s crew undercover of darkness has their sign process underway.

Surrey Newton’s candidate is new to the Today’s BC Liberal Front lines but already Sukhminder Virk is fitting in with these modern-day pirates.

Is it any wonder why these guys will lose the election?

The people of BC are crying out for open honest government, these people are running around breaking rules faster than they can make them. ( of course when the house only sits for 19 days, most of which the premier was worried about her government falling, there wasn’t much time for rules).

Do I hope folks driving in will see the signs tomorrow?

I do and I want them to all think about all the lying and cheating that got the Christy Clark Today’s BC Liberals in the predicament they are in now.

As you drive in if you hear about the promises , see the signs, please remember the lying and cheating with BC Rail and HST. Think about Mary Polak and her crew getting sued to release the files the Children’s advocate.

Tell your neighbors and friends, not this time!

These people have to go!

Moe Sihota and Christy Clark: Two Bollywood Actors Who Deserve Each Other! #bcpoli #bcndp #election2013

One One hand you have a premier who undoubtedly thinks that in her heart she is a Bollywood actress and on the other hand you have a simpleton NDPer who after his party slams the BC Liberals for the sham that is known as the “faux” Bollywood awards, cozys up right next to her proving once and for all he ( Moe Sihota) is politically inept .

Of course Sihota is no garden variety NDPer, he is the President and he should know better.

This is also no climb up the IQ scale for Clark as she once again demonstrates that she is clueless as she hitches herself up to Sihota and his checkered past.

Lets be clear, this is not a case of two parties working together, this picture is an example of the kind of rank opportunism that both Clark and Sihota are famous for.

If Adrian Dix and his team had been thinking election 2013 would be a cake walk, Sihota linking himself up with the Faux Premier at the Faux Bollywood awards will remind the public how similar and sleazy these two parties are.

It’s just another reason why it’s time for a change as the two so called main parties continue to show a mirror image of themselves.

Kinda makes the BC Conservatives and the Green Party look appealing doesn’t it?

The election is a little over a week away and already the fun has begun. Stay tuned.

Christy Clark’s Today’s BC Liberals:The Implosion Continues! #bcpoli #christyclark

Christy Clark: Name off the signs: Check .Wonder if they will notice me hiding in the crowd,you know in my heart I’m a……..

Doesn’t matter if her name is in the party logo or not, this is still the Christy Clark led BC Liberals and the party can’t escape that as hard as they try.

Tonight at UBC was the first of many all candidates debates in the riding the premier will eventually lose and she ducked it.

I would expect that ducking debates and staying in hiding will be par for the course throughout this campaign as the party looks to salvage some seats and distance themselves from the mess that Clark has created.

A couple of things worthy of note : The few pro Clark people who are left say wait until the writ has been dropped, Clark is the best campaigner on the planet. The problem with that theory as I have heard many a time over the last little while, is that Clark has been in campaign mode since she was elected by the party. If that’s a great campaigner I’d hate to see what a bad one looks like.

Secondly you only shine in an actual campaign when your party lines up with you and allows you to campaign. Give the scrapping of her name on the logo and her recent disappearing acts I find it hard to believe Clark will be campaigning much at all.

To toss more fuel to the fire comes a report from Keith Baldrey that puts yet another nail in the Christy Clark Today’s BC Liberal Party.

Apparently a civil war is brewing inside the party.

Strangely enough battle lines are being drawn over who will take power once the election is over and Clark is cast aside.

With two weeks to go until the writ is dropped it makes you wonder why anybody would want to run for them.( Surrey residents having been asking the question ” Marvin Hunt what were you thinking?”)

Usually political parties wait until after the election to knife their leader. But not the Today’s BC Liberals, they already took the scissors to her name on the signs. A knifing is nothing to this tired crew.

Where will the Christy Clark Today’s BC Liberals Civil War lead to next?

Who else will lose out in this tired affair ( other than those Liberals who will be swept away by the electorate)? Rich Coleman?

Stay tuned, this election will anything but boring!

Shirley Bond and Pat Bell should do the Right Thing and Step Down! #bcpoli #canpoli #princegeorgewoodinnovationcenter

Kash Heed: For Integrity reasons alone you should resign!

The Prince George Wood Innovation and Design Center has become even more controversial today with BC Liberal Kash Heed calling for his colleagues, Ministers Bell and Bond to resign.

Heed has experience with both ministerial controversy and stepping aside, having done so twice.

Both times Heed did not waste any time doing so.

In his column in the Huffington Post, Heed explains about integrity and why it’s important especially at the executive level of government.

I agree with him and I think the two ministers should stand down until this mess is cleared up.

As Heed says integrity in Government starts right from the executive council down through the backbench.

Lack of trust in the premier and her cabinet is the main reason the Christy Clark Today’s BC Liberals are so low in the polls and will likely get blown out in the coming election.

The least they could do for the electing public is show a little class before they are shown the door!