Baldrey: Goodbye or good riddance? 14 MLAs leaving the legislature

There were of plenty of tears and laughter (and some relief) on hand last week as 14 MLAs spent their last day on the job in the provincial legislature.

But while all of them should be congratulated on their public service, no matter which party they represented, a few stood out for their unique contributions to the political process.

First of all, the legislature’s only elected Independent MLA had unexpectedly announced she wasn’t running for re-election. Vicki Huntington has represented Delta South for two terms, and she brought a measure of non-partisanship that was sorely needed in an often bruising chamber.

On the opposition side, veteran Surrey MLA Sue Hammell – who had been a cabinet minister in the NDP government of the 1990s – seemed one of the few in the NDP caucus who wasn’t badly psychologically wounded by the party’s disastrous and unexpected election loss in 2013.

But I don’t think the same could be said of a few other departing NDP MLAs. Some of them who had helped engineer the ouster of Carole James from the party leadership seemed to be pointedly ignored by current party leader John Horgan, who was furious at the takedown of James, and so their retirements came as no surprise.

Others, such as Burnaby’s Kathy Corrigan and Esquimalt’s Maurine Karagianis, simply decided it was time (both had served well as MLAs) to move on (Karagianis has already served three terms).

In all, 14 MLAs are not seeking re-election. That’s far fewer than back in 2013, when 23 decided to pack it in. Most were BC Liberals, as that party underwent a caucus renewal under new leader Christy Clark.

This time, it is the NDP that is losing the most MLAs: seven, compared to the five departing Liberals.

On the government side, it was clear Dr. Moira Stillwell, from Vancouver-Langara, was going nowhere fast under the leadership of Christy Clark, as a result of a falling out between the two that occurred before the 2013 election. And Gord Hogg, from Surrey-White Rock, had already served 16 years and was obviously ready to move on to a new adventure.

Clark had been hoping Kamloops-North Thompson Terry Lake was going to stick around, as he’s been a strong health minister, but he decided two terms were enough.

The one MLA from either side who will be greatly missed for a variety of reasons, however, is another veteran: the irascible, blunt, straight-shooting Bill Bennett from the Kootenays.

In his 16 years in office, Bennett had carved out a reputation for speaking his mind, no matter if it occasionally landed him in hot water. He kicked any “message box” to the curb, even it meant the odd politically incorrect utterance or a statement that might put him on the outs with his own side.

He proved a more than capable cabinet minister overseeing mines and BC Hydro (although the NDP’s ardent BC Hydro critic, Adrian Dix, may argue that point) and became one of the premier’s most trusted ministers.

But it was Bennett’s epic takedown of former BC Liberal premier Gordon Campbell that ensured his legendary status when it comes to B.C. political lore.

After being booted from cabinet for criticizing Campbell’s leadership (his cell phone and government credit card were even taken away) he borrowed cash to fly back to Victoria to clean out his office and, more importantly, hold a scrum with the press gallery.

He let rip a 36-minute denunciation of Campbell’s leadership and personality (“He’s not a nice man,” Bennett kept repeating). Word spread throughout the legislature and people poured out of their offices to witness the drama.

After that performance, it was pretty clear Campbell’s days as leader were numbered. Bennett didn’t endorse Clark’s candidacy for leader but when she won, there was no one more loyal to her leadership than the member from Kootenay-East.

There’s no question Bennett will be missed big-time by Clark if she proves victorious on May 9. MLAs come and go every election cycle, but filling the shoes of the Sage of the Kootenays may prove to be a tough task.

Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC.

Keith.Baldrey@globalnews.ca