Northern B.C.'s say in who will be the next premier has increased with the B.C. Liberal Party's overwhelming vote to adopt a new system to select their leader.
Delegates voted 1,319 to 23 this past weekend in support of a weighted ballot that will give each of the province's 85 ridings an equal say Feb. 26 in selecting the party's new leader, and premier.
Weighted voting replaces the one-member, one-vote system and is meant to offset the large memberships in some active, populous Lower Mainland ridings.
Prince George-area Liberal MLAs supported the adoption of weighted voting, saying it's important the next premier of the province has support from all regions.
B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell announced last November he was stepping down half way through his third term. Whoever is chosen among the six candidates will become premier.
Prince George-Valemount Liberal MLA Pat Bell said he was stunned by the deluge of support.
"When you see this level of support for the new voting system, it tells me that urban members of the party understand the importance of a strong rural B.C.," said Bell, the forests and mining minister.
Six leadership candidates backed the weighted system going into the special meeting on Saturday. The candidates include former cabinet ministers George Abbott, Kevin Falcon, Mike de Jong and Moria Stilwell. Also running are former Liberal MLA turned radio talk-show host Christy Clark and Parksville mayor Ed Mayne.
Bell, who supports Falcon, said he thinks the near-unanimous agreement also sends a message that the party's coalition is strong.
Under Campbell, the Liberals gathered backers from conservatives and more centre-based voters in rural and urban B.C.
The Liberals won five of the eight northern B.C. ridings in the last election, but the Prince George ridings are considered swing seats. The NDP won Prince George ridings when they formed government in 1972, 1991 and 1996.
Nechako Lakes Liberal MLA John Rustad said he was fearful ahead of the vote that leadership tactics would play a part in the decision, but was pleased delegates voted for the good of the party.
"The importance of this is that it recognizes we are able to reach out and be a party of inclusion," said Rustad.
, whose riding is just west of Prince George.
Rustad is backing Abbott.
Both Bell and Rustad questioned why the NDP, also in the midst of a leadership decision, was not also adopting a weighted system.
Political scientist Norman Ruff said adoption of the weighted voting system is not just important within the party, but with the general public, as a symbolic gesture that recognizes the importance of regions outside the Lower Mainland.
While all the attention was put on the adoption of the weighted system, possibly more important in the leadership race was a decision to require voters to list at least a second preference for leader, stressed Ruff, a professor emeritus at the University of Victoria.
That decision was passed with a 55 per cent majority, showing it was much more controversial, noted Ruff.
Ensuring that voters must list at least one other preference for leader will be less beneficial for front-runners Clark and Falcon, and helpful to Abbott and de Jong, said Ruff.
It could also lead to complicated strategic voting, he said.
