MacPhail lauded for selflessness

MacPhail lauded for selflessness
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published in the New West Record, June 7, 2003

Tuesday's surprise announcement that NDP leader Joy MacPhail will step down before the next election was greeted with a mixture of sadness and relief in the former party strongholds of New Westminster and Burnaby.

Some of kindest words for MacPhail came from former NDP attorney general Graeme Bowbrick, who said the outgoing party leader did an admirable job, both in the final days of the Clark/Dosanjh governments and as party leader.

"Joy served in a principled and selfless way," said Bowbrick, who supported MacPhail in the leadership campaign prior to the last election. "She took on the worst jobs - the Social Services Ministry just before the Matthew Vaudreuil report was made public and the Health Ministry when the regional system was brought in. She took on crappy jobs from the premier and did it without any public complaint, and people forget that."

Bowbrick also applauded MacPhail for resigning during the "darkest days" of the Clark government. "That was not a career- enhancing move," he said. "But it's people who have the guts to do those things who you want in a leadership position, not the people who make everyone happy.

He also noted that some of the strongest opponents of MacPhail are her own party colleagues. "The only people who are critical of Joy's performance, ironically enough, are a certain segment within the NDP," he said. "Vaughn Palmer (the provincial affairs political columnist for the Vancouver Sun) said her performance in the past two years may go down in political history as the most outstanding performance of an MLA in the history of the province, and that wouldn't be too far off the mark. And she did it all selflessly, And I think she did it for the party."

Bowbrick dismissed rumours that he might be interested in running for the leadership, and said may not even run for MLA because of obligations to his young family.

"Unless you're independently wealthy you can't afford to be jumping in and out of politics. You have to pick something and build a base, and that's what I'm doing now," he said.

In her announcement, MacPhail called for a party leadership convention this November, after which she will stay on as an MLA only until the following election, which must take place in 2005.

Depite the party's current poor showing in the legisalture, where they have only two of 75 MLAs,

MacPahil sounded a note of optimism in her announcement.

"New members are joining every day, from every part of this province," she said. "There's a renewed sense of purpose - outrage over what is happening to the British Columbia we love, but also hope that we can and will make things better. ... I'm proud that we've learned from our past mistakes, and just as importantly, from our successes."

But MacPhail's stated sense of optimism is not shared by everyone in the party.

At Burnaby city council, where the NDP holds a strong majority of seats, there was a sense of resignation that the party is facing a tough road ahead for the next few years, and a sense that MacPhail played a fairly large role in those troubles.

"I think Joy MacPhail is making the right choice in the best interest of the party," said Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan, who continues to be seen as a possible contender for the NDP leader's job, despite his repeated denials.

"She recognizes she carries a lot of baggage from the previous NDP government, and it would be highly unlikely she could unload that before another election," Corrigan said. "I also think she's recognized the desire from within the party to see new faces and new approaches."

But when it comes to picking a new leader, other than dismissing his own name, Corrigan believes the party may be best served it if looks outside its existing membership.

"I think we need someone who will be a consensus builder. Someone who will be able to bring together diverse elements of the community together. Someone who can bridge the gap between people interested in the environment and labour."

At least one other Burnaby council member was more terse in his comments.

Former NDP MLA Pietro Calendino, who has never hidden his dislike for MacPhail's role in ousting former party leader Glen Clark, said he's glad to hear she'll step down the from the post before the next election.

"I think she's made a wise decision. We need fresh blood there," said Calendino, who admitted he might be interested in running for provincial politics again, given the right circumstances.

But past candidate Bart Healey, who ran in the Burquitlam riding in 2001, said MacPhail was a superb leader, and that he would love to run again, regardless of who takes the helm of the party.

"I think she's done a pretty good job and we owe her a debt of gratitude for her courage and compassion," said Healey, a Teamster who has already started knocking on doors in anticipation of running again in 2005. "I think politics is a little like Hollywood. It eats up good people and spits them out and throws them away."