"Fear of a name, increases fear of the thing itself"

Former BC Solicitor General Kash
Heed to retire after just one term

Remember the classic rock anthem from Queen ... Another One Bites the Dust?

Another one bites the dust

Another one bites the dust

And another one gone, and another one gone

Another one bites the dust

Hey, I'm gonna get you too

I was reminded of the song, when yet another BC Liberal MLA decided to call it quits late last week … former Solicitor General Kash Heed.  Heed was only elected as a BC Liberal MLA in the 2009 provincial election, in the riding of Vancouver - Fraserview. 

The fact that he has decided to bow out, after just one term, speaks volumes to the chances of BC Liberals in the next general election.

In an interview with the Asian Journal, Kash Heed laid out several reasons for his decision, including the following:

"...the system within British Columbia is very, very difficult to change and there really was no real, clear action by the government to make those significant changes."

"Unfortunately, our government has decided to move forward on signing a multi-billion-dollar, 20-year contract with the RCMP without doing, in my opinion, due diligence on what the best policing model is for British Columbia.

"I go away from politics, saying that I am glad I had my 31-year career in policing, because had I entered politics as my career, I would have been so, so disappointed.”

Kash Heed is now the third sitting BC Liberal MLA to announce he will not be seeking re-election.  The first, sometime ago, was Harry Bloy.  Last week, Kamloops South Thompson MLA Kevin Krueger also announced he was stepping down and would not run again.

Just as interesting however, are the names of two Cabinet members who earlier this Spring let it be known they were having reservations.  A CBC news story from March 28, 2012 stated:

Two of the B.C. Liberal government's high-profile cabinet ministers say they are not yet committed to running in the May 2013 provincial election.  B.C. Finance Minister and Deputy Premier Kevin Falcon and Education Minister George Abbott, who finished second and third, respectively, in the party leadership race in 2011, say they might not stand for re-election.

That it was 3 months ago they speculated they may not run again, and to date have yet to say another word, speaks volumes to the fact that the BC Liberals are a political entity headed for the scrapheap of BC politics – just as Social Credit was two decades ago.

In May Bill Tieleman reminded us of a quote from J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter movie the Sorcer’s Stone … "Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

He followed that up with a quote from BC Premier Christy Clark:

"We should be considering and actively debating a name change in our party, and I'm glad we're doing it.  I think we need to have a name for our party that's as inclusive as possible."

BC Liberals need a LOT MORE than just a change of name.   

That said, watch for more announcements in the coming weeks, of BC Liberals announcing they will not be seeking re-election.  I suspect on that list will be both Kevin Falcon … along with George Abbott.

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops … with the thoughts of one conservative.