mr.x
November 30th, 2007, 11:59 PM
Taylor won't run again
Finance minister to announce she's leaving provincial politics amid buzz over mayoral run
Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, November 30, 2007
Finance Minister Carole Taylor, once touted as the woman who would succeed Gordon Campbell as premier of B.C., will announce today that she will not run for re-election for the B.C. Liberal party in 2009.
Taylor told the B.C. Liberal caucus Wednesday that she would not be running, causing widespread speculation that she might be preparing for a run as the next Vancouver mayor.
Inside the backrooms of the Non-Partisan Association, which has the majority on city council, rumours had been flying for months that some of the city's biggest players had been courting Taylor and preparing an organization in case she decides to run for the job in next fall's civic election.
Taylor has been telling those who inquire that when she receives those calls, "a little piece of me can't say no."
Taylor, who is married to former Vancouver mayor Art Phillips, informed Campbell of her decision before the caucus meeting.
Campbell is on a trade mission to Asia. Reached in Hong Kong, he said he was happy she would finish her term as finance minister and MLA.
"I'm sorry to see her go," he said, adding that Taylor had been urging him to run again.
He said that when he first asked her to run for the Liberals, "I wasn't asking her to run eight years. I was asking her to run four years. Obviously, she'll be missed. "
Taylor's decision to leave the provincial arena, which she is expected to announce at a press conference today, all but guarantees Campbell will make a bid for a third term as B.C premier, something last accomplished by Socred premier Bill Bennett.
When Taylor was drafted by Campbell, who was struggling in the polls, recovering from his impaired driving imbroglio in Hawaii and fighting to rebound from voters' views that he had moved too far to the right in his first term, Taylor was the perfect political antidote for what ailed him.
A former beauty queen and federal Liberal, Taylor had built a resume that showed she had both a high IQ and political savvy.
She had served as an independent Vancouver city councillor, she was a national television host, and she was a seasoned executive who ran Ports Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Aside from being Campbell's premier-in-waiting, she was even mooted as a potential prime minister when federal Liberals discussed her as a possible leadership candidate after prime minister Paul Martin left.
Now, even the Senate may await, with vacancies from the red chamber in B.C. -- including that of retiring senator Pat Carney -- needing to be filled.
Taylor will continue her role as finance minister, bringing through another budget in February that is expected to post more surpluses. That will add to her reputation as one of the most successful -- and moderate -- finance ministers in B.C., who managed to settle five-year labour agreements with the province's public sector unions, an accomplishment that escaped Campbell in the first term.
But there is also a trace of unhappiness in Taylor's departure.
Campbell's decision to stay on a third term was probably a disappointment to this ambitious woman. It meant that if she were to wait for her time, undoubtedly on the front bench, she would find her political-biological clock ticking away.
By the end of a third Campbell term, she would be over 65. It's not an age she shows, but the question arises whether a woman who is a multi-millionaire -- with formidable political, social and business ties that straddle the country and continent -- would allow such political capital to languish on the front lines.
As well, Taylor has not been happy with Campbell in recent months. The premier's office has become centralized and she was disappointed by the departure of her deputy minister, who left a few months ago to become the CEO of Vancity.
Taylor also leaves at a time when things may get much more problematic for a finance minister. The U.S. may be headed into a recession, which will inevitably have a spillover effect on B.C.'s economy.
As well, the green budget that Campbell has mandated -- a set of policies to try to fight global warming -- is one of the most profound shifts in the province's business agenda in generations. As it is implemented, potentially with a U.S. recession on the horizon, the government's surpluses may shrink into the red.
Finally, however, Taylor is doing what the smartest politicians hope for: leaving at her political zenith. She now opens up the possibility that she will be drafted as the next mayor of Vancouver.
That job is filled, of course, by Sam Sullivan. He's a tough and savvy politician himself. Today, it will be up to Taylor whether she plans to take him on. There's probably nobody in the province who could right now -- other than Taylor. As Vancouver magazine noted, after rating the Gucci-wearing Taylor No. 1 power broker in B.C., Carole Taylor can take pretty much any job she desires.
mcernetig@png.canwest.com
Finance minister to announce she's leaving provincial politics amid buzz over mayoral run
Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, November 30, 2007
Finance Minister Carole Taylor, once touted as the woman who would succeed Gordon Campbell as premier of B.C., will announce today that she will not run for re-election for the B.C. Liberal party in 2009.
Taylor told the B.C. Liberal caucus Wednesday that she would not be running, causing widespread speculation that she might be preparing for a run as the next Vancouver mayor.
Inside the backrooms of the Non-Partisan Association, which has the majority on city council, rumours had been flying for months that some of the city's biggest players had been courting Taylor and preparing an organization in case she decides to run for the job in next fall's civic election.
Taylor has been telling those who inquire that when she receives those calls, "a little piece of me can't say no."
Taylor, who is married to former Vancouver mayor Art Phillips, informed Campbell of her decision before the caucus meeting.
Campbell is on a trade mission to Asia. Reached in Hong Kong, he said he was happy she would finish her term as finance minister and MLA.
"I'm sorry to see her go," he said, adding that Taylor had been urging him to run again.
He said that when he first asked her to run for the Liberals, "I wasn't asking her to run eight years. I was asking her to run four years. Obviously, she'll be missed. "
Taylor's decision to leave the provincial arena, which she is expected to announce at a press conference today, all but guarantees Campbell will make a bid for a third term as B.C premier, something last accomplished by Socred premier Bill Bennett.
When Taylor was drafted by Campbell, who was struggling in the polls, recovering from his impaired driving imbroglio in Hawaii and fighting to rebound from voters' views that he had moved too far to the right in his first term, Taylor was the perfect political antidote for what ailed him.
A former beauty queen and federal Liberal, Taylor had built a resume that showed she had both a high IQ and political savvy.
She had served as an independent Vancouver city councillor, she was a national television host, and she was a seasoned executive who ran Ports Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Aside from being Campbell's premier-in-waiting, she was even mooted as a potential prime minister when federal Liberals discussed her as a possible leadership candidate after prime minister Paul Martin left.
Now, even the Senate may await, with vacancies from the red chamber in B.C. -- including that of retiring senator Pat Carney -- needing to be filled.
Taylor will continue her role as finance minister, bringing through another budget in February that is expected to post more surpluses. That will add to her reputation as one of the most successful -- and moderate -- finance ministers in B.C., who managed to settle five-year labour agreements with the province's public sector unions, an accomplishment that escaped Campbell in the first term.
But there is also a trace of unhappiness in Taylor's departure.
Campbell's decision to stay on a third term was probably a disappointment to this ambitious woman. It meant that if she were to wait for her time, undoubtedly on the front bench, she would find her political-biological clock ticking away.
By the end of a third Campbell term, she would be over 65. It's not an age she shows, but the question arises whether a woman who is a multi-millionaire -- with formidable political, social and business ties that straddle the country and continent -- would allow such political capital to languish on the front lines.
As well, Taylor has not been happy with Campbell in recent months. The premier's office has become centralized and she was disappointed by the departure of her deputy minister, who left a few months ago to become the CEO of Vancity.
Taylor also leaves at a time when things may get much more problematic for a finance minister. The U.S. may be headed into a recession, which will inevitably have a spillover effect on B.C.'s economy.
As well, the green budget that Campbell has mandated -- a set of policies to try to fight global warming -- is one of the most profound shifts in the province's business agenda in generations. As it is implemented, potentially with a U.S. recession on the horizon, the government's surpluses may shrink into the red.
Finally, however, Taylor is doing what the smartest politicians hope for: leaving at her political zenith. She now opens up the possibility that she will be drafted as the next mayor of Vancouver.
That job is filled, of course, by Sam Sullivan. He's a tough and savvy politician himself. Today, it will be up to Taylor whether she plans to take him on. There's probably nobody in the province who could right now -- other than Taylor. As Vancouver magazine noted, after rating the Gucci-wearing Taylor No. 1 power broker in B.C., Carole Taylor can take pretty much any job she desires.
mcernetig@png.canwest.com