Kamloops, Kelowna MLAs not ruling out a run for Conservative leadership

Two MLAs, one from Kamloops and one from Kelowna, haven’t ruled out a run for the BC Conservative leadership amid party turmoil.

A day after a majority of BC Conservative MLAs signed a letter calling for John Rustad to step aside, Gavin Dew and Peter Milobar said they were still considering their next moves.

“I think anyone who says they are 100 per cent in or out, when the ink isn’t even dry on John Rustad’s resignation, would be foolhardy,” Milobar said. “It’s a big decision. It’s intriguing on the one hand, but you need to make sure you have strong family support and check in with supporters.”

The Kamloops-Centre MLA, now in his third term, left the BC Liberal party ahead of last year’s election to join Rustad’s burgeoning Conservative party.

He was one of the 20 MLAs, out of the 39 Conservatives in Victoria, to sign the letter calling for Rustad’s resignation. After initially resisting the move, Rustad resigned Thursday, Dec. 3.

Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission, wouldn’t say whether he signed the letter and told iNFOnews.ca he expected others wouldn’t either. He was also guarded about whether he’ll throw his hat in the ring.

“The key thing is celebrating John, thanking him both for what he accomplished and also for the dignity and grace with which he made his exit today,” he said.

But Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer didn’t shy away from his thoughts on joining an eventual leadership race. He said some supporters have already suggested he run, but he suggested he wouldn’t fit the role as party leader.

“No, I appreciate the support, but I’m too outspoken,” he said. “I’m a straight shooter, I don’t like playing games. I don’t like having a meeting to schedule a meeting to have another meeting.”

He said he was not one of the 20 to sign the letter ousting Rustad. He added that he wasn’t asked to take part and doesn’t “have anything against” the people who did sign it.

“I wasn’t one of the 20. Eventually those names will come out. I wasn’t asked to be part of the process, but things unfolded very quickly, and I can assure you there were more than 20 people in the room when those discussions were had,” he said.

“There’s a fixation on the 20 out of 39. That’s totally unfair, because the way the process unrolled, there wasn’t necessarily an indication that we had 51 or 52 per cent in the room. I was considerably higher than that.”

The three MLAs weren’t specific about what led to Rustad’s forced resignation except to say it was an accumulation of events within the party.

“I think there’s a bunch of different things, and I don’t really want to talk about the nuts and bolts of it all,” Stamer said. “It seemed like there was things that we were missing, and maybe this is an opportunity where we can get everybody excited again and we can drive membership.”

It’s not clear when a new leadership race will begin, but Surrey–White Rock MLA Trevor Halford is taking on the interim role until then.