So you wanna be an MLA.
And why not? Its a good gig. You make six figures. Travel the province on the taxpayers dime. And split time between your Vancouver home and seaside Victoria where taxpayers pay the rent.
But before running in the general election next May, you must secure your partys nomination in your riding.
Next week, the ruling B.C. Liberals will acclaim their first MLA candidate, incumbent Moira Stilwell from Vancouver-Langara. (To acclaim is to crown, without a nomination challenge from a fellow party member.) Yet the three other major provincial political parties (NDP, Tories, Greens) wont nominate candidates until the fall.
Perhaps the latest Ipsos Reid poll, which shows a 19-point NDP lead, has spurred the Liberals into action.
As for the NDP, party operatives are busy forming a candidate slate. The process goes like this.
In non-incumbent ridingsVancouver-Point Grey, for exampleNDP constituency associations composed of party go-getters organize a search committee and shake the trees for potential candidates.
In incumbent ridings, according to Jan OBrien, NDP provincial secretary, there are no search committees because constituents are always very satisfied with incumbent MLAs.
But what if someone challenges an incumbent NDP MLA, say, Spencer Herbert in Vancouver-West End?
Then its up to the individual to come forward and apply for approval as a candidate, says OBrien. Theres nothing in the rules to prevent that, but its a very rare occurrence.
All nomination candidates are scrutinized by a 36-member panel of NDP elites, which includes party president Moe Sihota and representatives from key NDP constituencies such as organized labour and gay activist groups. The panel meets by telephone conference, or sometimes in person, to scrutinize candidates before the vote. Majority rules.
To assist the panel, party operatives vet each candidate, focusing on their background, work history and community involvement. According to OBrien, the process does not include financial disclosures or criminal record checks. And no lawyers are involved.
Its not a process aimed at ruling people out, says OBrien. The purpose of our vetting is to uncover issues that may arise during the campaign so that we can work with potential candidates to ensure that they dont blow up.
Blowing up can be a problem. During the 2008 federal election, video surfaced online of Dana Larsen, NDP candidate in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast, simultaneously smoking two dozen joints. Larsen dropped out of the race, followed quickly by Vancouver-Quadra NDP candidate Kirk Tousaw, a former B.C. Marijuana Party official.
Last year, Powell River/Sunshine Coast NDP MLA Nicholas Simons says he refused a request from the party to hand over his social media passwords as part of his run for the party leadership. Some questioned whether candidate vetting had gone too far.
But OBrien says NDP MLA candidates arent required to disclose their online activity from Twitter, Facebook or whatever.
We dont delve into the private part of anyones online material. We ask people to voluntarily disclose issues that could cost embarrassment.
Finally, following approval by the 36-member panel, the constituency association announces a date for the nomination vote, which is reserved for residents of the riding whove been party members for at least 90 days. Nomination meetings often take place in community centres and involve candidate speeches.
Then the general election, and the real fun begins.
Twitter: @MarkHasiuk
