To the editor:
Darryl Plecas won an MLA seat in the 2013 B.C. provincial election. He did not receive a cabinet position in the B.C. Liberal majority government.
Plecas won re-election in the 2017 B.C. provincial election. He did not receive a cabinet position in the B.C. Liberal minority government.
At the B.C. Liberal caucus meeting in Penticton, Plecas announced that he would not seek re-election for the B.C. Liberals if Christy Clark remained as the B.C. Liberal leader.
As an MLA, his base salary is $105,881.63. His decision to take on the speaker’s job gives him an additional $52,940.92 per year.
Plecas likely only thought of himself in this decision, because this was a much better choice than remaining as MLA in the official opposition party.
His comments about Christy Clark seem personal, holding a grudge because he never received a cabinet position which would have given more money on his paycheque.
There are also some personal items between him and Rich Coleman as Rich Coleman’s son is married to Plecas’s niece.
If Plecas had been given a cabinet position, he would likely still be a B.C. Liberal MLA today.
He now knows that he will never sit in the B.C. Legislature again after the next provincial election.
If he ran again under the NDP or as an independent, he would lose the election to the B.C. Liberal candidate.
He needs six years of service in the legislature to qualify for a B.C. MLA pension.
If this B.C. NDP-Green party partnership does not last 2 years, Plecas is out of luck for this pension.
In summary, Plecas is only looking out for himself.
Joe Sawchuk
Duncan