BC Liberals of the North Coast find much to like from Prince Rupert Mayor's State of the City address

Some of the reaction to Mayor Lee Brain's State of the City presentation of last week has delivered some high profile support over the last seven days; starting with the Mayor of Port Edward Knut Bjorndal who joined the Mayor on Stage on June 28th to celebrate a new relationship with Prince Rupert, following up on social media with some thoughts on the night.

Likewise, the Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce also left the Lester Centre with good memories from the event, vowing to work to bring Mayor Brain's vision plan to the finish line as he departs office.

But perhaps the most enthusiastic review of the Mayor's presentation came from the North Coast BC Liberal Party Riding Association, which used his talking points and observations for some political message making on the provincial front last week.

Those among the BC Liberals of the region, no doubt were listening with much interest as the Mayor recounted his battles with the Province towards the issue of the Port Property Tax Act and the frustration that he and council has found from the province when it comes to addressing civic issues.  

Though the local Liberals may have tuned out the part where the Mayor said the issue dates back as much to his early days of office, the dispute one which has continued since the NDP government took office.

"I'll tell you how much effort I put into this file, I'll tell ya. I organized every single community that had the same impact, all the Mayors down south. We lobbied both the BC Liberals and BC NDP. 

We did song and dance, I put pom poms on. 

Like we did everything and they haven't moved on that. And there's some reasons I probably shouldn't say it publicly. But this challenge, the Port Property Tax Act is the number one reason why this community is stuck, we are stuck, we are not allowed to be free"

The early portion of the time of that lobbying campaign of course was during the reign of the BC Liberals as led by then Premier Christy Clark; who didn't appear to move much either towards accommodating the City in their time of need at the time.

Still, the Local riding association members do have a bit of a narrative to share, when pointing out that the Prince Rupert area hasn't really benefited much from NDP attention since they took on the powers of government. 

Yes a few initiatives have been delivered to the city mainly in social housing areas and including some funding for a few of the Mayor's vision planning items from Hays 2.0 and the Rupert Vision 2030 program.

But there is so much more that needs to be done that hasn't been and at times there does seem to be a feeling that NDP Party officials take the North Coast as a given on Election Day and area that doesn't require much to keep the voting base happy.

The local Liberals may have also missed the moment when Mr. Brain did offer up some sympathy to the political burdens for Ms. Rice on Presentation night. 

Noting that she was onboard with the City's fight on many issues and that she has her own challenges within her own party, some inside baseball from the mayor that maybe the MLA herself may want to expand upon with the voters one day perhaps.

"Who, by the way Jen, I'm so sorry, she is  a very big supporter of us.  

She works really hard with us, works with our staff. I know I crapped on the caps, she's very much helping with the caps, disclaimer.

Ok, cause yeah I would feel awkward if I was sitting in a presentation. And, just so you know she's actually helping us with that and she has her challenges in her own government and stuff."

Even though the Mayor gave no indication as to his future come October, the attention given to the Mayor's presentation by the local Liberals does seem a bit like they may have put out the Bat Signal for him perhaps to consider a new direction for his political life.   

Maybe even as a candidate under the BC Liberal banner, or whatever new name that they may come up with in the next few months following the current review put forward by recently elected leader Kevin Falcon.

It would make for an interesting bit of matchmaking, the Mayor who clearly is a believer in heavy provincial funding for civic governments; signing on with a free enterprise party that may not be as inclined as the local group suggests when it comes towards funnelling large amounts of cash to municipalities and funding ambitious vision plans.

Not to mention his part in the evolution of a few new municipally operated instruments in both Watson Island and Legacy Corporation, not to mention the continued ownership of CityWest.

Most of which would seem to run against the free enterprise spirit of the BC Liberal party.

As well, there is a range of environmental and sustainability themes from the Mayor over the last eight years and before even his entry into local politics, areas which  would seem to make him more aligned with the NDP,  or even the Greens, over the Liberals. 

Particularly of note in areas of LNG say, something which remains a major platform for the BC Liberals, and and  area where Prince Rupert City Council has seen a number of high profile local projects fade away.

The prospect of Mr. Brain taking on the challenge  for a seat in Victoria however, would certainly create some interest in the election campaign when it comes around (maybe sooner than thought depending on how the NDP leadership race plays out this fall)

The last time a former Prince Rupert Mayor took on the NDP on the North Coast was during the 2017 provincial election when Herb Pond, took the challenge to Jennifer Rice. 

A contest which saw the NDP MLA returned to office with a larger vote margin than the 2013 election, when the Liberals had sent Judy Fraser into battle.

That 2017 campaign, was the second time that Mr. Pond had sought out a seat in the Legislature, having taken on incumbent Gary Coons in the 2009 campaign.

In that contest, Mr. Pond, claimed 3,110 votes in a three way race, which saw Gary Coons come out of the vote count as the victor. Lisa Gribav the Green candidate of the day claiming third sport.

Then like today, the main theme was that the region needed an advocate that could bring funding and other benefits from the province to the region.

Should they put out the welcome mat for Mr. Brain, the BC Liberals would clearly be using much the same script as has been in place for close to twelve years. A period of time that has continued to send NDP representatives back to the Legislature.

Perhaps the prospect of a campaign of former municipal politicians, Ms, Rice was once a city councillor, might help to spur on some voter participation. 

The volume of North Coast voters from recent elections of any stripe, one which doesn't require anyone around to keep the doors clear at the voting stations.

And who know, perhaps Ms. Rice may have other plans in mind and take leave of the provincial scene. 

Though her recent comments following the announcement of the Premier's decision to step down, seem to indicate she's still part of the NDP Team in Victoria that will carry the fight forward.

Whether a candidate with even as high a profile and a long cultivated popularity among a portion of the community, as the current Prince Rupert Mayor enjoys, can cut into hold that the NDP has on the region would be an interesting question.  

Something that the BC Liberals will have to weigh carefully as they look for just the right candidate to try to topple an NDP Machine locally that is always up for a good political scrap.

More notes on the provincial scene can be explored through our Legislature archive page.