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Vancouver-Langara MLA and cabinet minister Dr. Moira Stilwell has announced plans to run for the leadership of the B.C. Liberal party on Monday morning.
Stilwell told Premier Gordon Campbell over the weekend she is resigning from her position as Minister of Regional Economic and Skills Development in order to focus on the leadership race.
Stilwell is a radiologist and nuclear medicine physician who has been working at BC Women’s Hospital for nearly a decade. She was also the head of Nuclear Medicine at St. Paul’s Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital, Abbottsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Clinic, before becoming an MLA in 2009.
Meanwhile former cabinet minister Blair Lekstrom has decided he will not run for head of the provincial party. The Peace River South MLA quit the BC Liberal caucus in June over public opposition to the HST and was considered a frontrunner if he wanted to enter the race.
“I have made the decision that I will not be seeking the nomination. Presently I am able serve the people of Peace River South in the Legislative Assembly which is a job I love and am honoured to do and at the same time maintain a quality of life with my family and friends that is second to none,” Lekstrom said in a statement released on Monday morning.
But Ian Tosentson, the President and CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association, says he now is considering running and will make a final announcement by the end of the week.
“What I'd like to see ultimately is how do we get this province pulling together, working hard, and sort of get rid of all this nastiness that's going across both political parties. If I could pull that off then I would run for sure,” Tosentson told CBC Radio on Monday morning.
Two other potential frontrunners, Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts and former B.C. finance minister Carole Tylor have already said they don't intend to enter the race.
The party scheduled a leadrship vote for Feb. 26 after Premier Gordon Campbell announced plans to step down following his mishandling of the unpopular HST.
CBC News
