Saying the stakes are too high not to run again, Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Pat Bell plans to carry the Liberal banner again in the May 2013 provincial election.
Bell will have company as Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond also has her sights set on another run. Both MLAs will be seeking a fourth term in office, something that Bell admits wasn't originally part of the plan.
"I'd really concluded that three terms was all I'd planned on doing and that really goes back to when I first thought about running as an MLA," he said. "But I've come to a conclusion the stakes are way too high this time around."
Bell, the jobs, tourism and innovation minister, said he reached the decision over the past few months and cited his party's position on liquified natural gas, the proposed Site C hydroelectric dam and new mining projects as reasons for running again.
"I know that incumbency is an important element in any re-election. Shirley and I, whenever we're in the community, always feel really welcomed," Bell said. "If we can play our part by running again and doing one more term, then it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
Bond, the attorney general and justice minister, cited her party's accomplishments over the last decade as the reasons she wants a fourth term.
"It is my intent to run again because we need strong, experienced voices in Victoria," she wrote in a prepared statement. "I am a lifelong resident of Prince George and I care deeply about ensuring we continue to see the kind of progress we have seen over the last 10 years."
Meanwhile, Cariboo North independent MLA Bob Simpson plans to seek a third term next year. Simpson was elected under the NDP banner in 2005 and in 2009, but was kicked out of caucus in 2010 in a dispute with then leader Carole James. He said being an independent has freed him from the party bonds and allowed him to do his job better.
Simpson, who scored narrow victories over Liberal challengers in the last two elections, will run as an independent and plans to target people who don't usually vote in elections.
"I think a big part of why almost 50 per cent of Canadian voters are not participating is they're just sick of partisan politics and the lack of governance," he said.
The NDP have opened up a large lead over the Liberals in a series of recent province-wide public opinion polls, with the third-place Conservatives nipping on the governing party's heels.
The decisions by Bond and Bell buck a trend which has seen a steady stream of Liberal MLAs announce their intentions not to seek re-election. This week Murray Coell and Dave Hayer both announced they won't be on the ticket in 2013. Liberals Kash Heed, Kevin Krueger and Harry Bloy had all previously announced they wouldn't be running. Former cabinet ministers Barry Penner and Iain Black have both resigned their seats since the 2009 election and won't be running again in 2013.
Bell said it's normal for around 30 to 40 per cent of incumbents to bow out each election cycle and isn't putting too much stock into the departure of his colleagues.
Both Bell and Bond were first elected in 2001 when the Liberals swept into power under former leader Gordon Campbell and were re-elected in 2005 and 2009.
The Liberal party has yet to set a date for an nomination meeting for either riding, but a party official expects the province-wide nomination process will continue through the summer and into the fall.
Assuming Bond secures the nomination, she would be up against NDP candidate Sherry Ogasawara, a local dietitian. Bell would face labour lawyer Bobby (Sarbjit) Deepak of the NDP.
Neither the Conservatives nor the Greens have nominated a candidate yet in either Prince George riding.
