British Columbia’s ‘hardest working MLA’ will continue that hard work … for a couple more months.
Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond told reporters and supporters Tuesday that she will not be seeking re-election this fall. Obviously not as a BC United candidate since leader Kevin Falcon suspended the party’s campaign last week, but neither as a Conservative nor as an independent.
Bond said she was hesitant to run for her seventh consecutive term in office this fall, but eventually decided to carry on because she felt she needed to continue the push to have a surgical tower built at UHNBC.
She said she was convinced to run again because of the need to have experience and leadership from the North. However, when Falcon called, it was clear to her that it was time to make the decision to retire.
Even though she was one of the most senior members of the BC United caucus and served as interim leader before Falcon was elected party leader, she was not in the loop when Falcon engineered a deal with BC Conservative leader John Rustad to suspend the BC United campaign. She said the decision caught her by surprise.
While the news wasn’t just hard on her.
“Decisions like that don’t just impact the elected person, they impact all of us, our donors, our supporters, our sponsors, our door knockers, and our staff, who I cherish, so it was a tough morning.”
Bond said didn’t expect to receive a call from Rustad asking her to, like many BC United MLAs, run for the Conservatives. And even if she did, the decision to retire would remain the same.
Bond said she has been encouraged to run as an independent. However, it’s not in the cards for her.
She did not endorse any candidate in the upcoming election.