Tuesday June 25, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC
Political analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
“There’s only one story about this decision… what’s in the best interest of our family,” Adam Olsen said of his decision not to run for re-election.
He has been the BC Green Party MLA for Saanich North and the Islands since 2017 and is house leader of the BC Green Party, making numerous speeches on behalf of British Columbians on a number of key socioeconomic issues.
Olsen’s insight and intensity of presentation in the BC Legislative Assembly has been distinctively powerful, and heart felt.
“We know this may come as a surprise — Adam has been a public servant for over 15 years,” it was stated in the media announcement this morning.
He cites three recent deaths among people close to him as his reason to reevaluate how his spends his time and energy.
Shifting to party campaign leadership:
He won’t leave his political involvement with the BC Greens. In fact, he will now be the BC Greens provincial campaign chair, being “eager to guide the next generation of Green leaders”, as stated by the party.
In his in-person announcement in downtown Victoria today, Olsen said he faces personal challenges. “There are three deaths in the last calendar year that each in their own way have put me into an existential re-evaluation of what is truly important to me, who I’m prioritizing and where I serve.”
The next provincial election is coming up fast on October 19. BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau will have a tough race on her hands in Victoria-Beacon Hill where she’ll be up against current BC NDP MLA Grace Lore as a strong incumbent contender.
Olsen will clearly be of great help in aiming to ensure Furstenau’s win there. He will also be faced with helping achieve wins for the small number of other candidates running across BC (so far there are 16 BC Green candidates across 93 ridings).
As a former two-term Central Saanich municipal councillor and a member of the Tsartlip Nation, Olsen’s community commitment has been strong. He told media today that it was a difficult decision to step back from the MLA role. Furstenau calls him a great parliamentarian.
BC Green candidates (at June 25, 2024):
Without Olsen, the BC Green Party now has 18 candidates for the October 19 election, focussing on where they believe there’s a strong chance of winning:
- Calvin Beauchesne (Columbia Rover-Revelstoke)
- Arzeena Hamir (Courtenay-Comox)
- Cammy Lockwood (Cowichan Valley)
- Camille Currie (Esquimalt-Colwood)
- Jonah Timms (Fraser-Nicola)
- David Evans (Juan de Fuca – Malahat)
- Randy Sunderman (Kamloops Centre)
- Stephanie Hendy (Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream)
- Nicole Charlwood (Kootenay Central)
- Petrian Arnason (Langley Willowbrook)
- Dr Lisa Gunderson (Oak Bay – Gordon Head)
- Ned Talyor (Saanich South)
- Pat McCutcheon (Surrey-Cloverdale)
- Scott Kristjanson (Surrey-White Rock)
- Devyani Singh (Vancouver-Point Grey)
- Sonia Furstenau (Victoria-Beacon Hill)
- Christina Winter (Victoria-Swan Lake)
- Jeremy Valeriote (West Vancouver-Sea to Sky)
93 ridings in fall election:
There are 93 ridings in the next BC Legislative Assembly, up from the previous 87. Some electoral area boundaries have shifted as part of creating new ridings as the population of the province continues to increase.
Vancouver Island now has 15 ridings, up one from 14.
Comments in social media:
Various sentiments were expressed in social media today about Adam Olsen not running again.
- “This is a big loss for the Legislative institution which has benefited from @AdamPOlsen‘s voice & passion for democracy. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Adam since before he was an MLA & will miss our spirited #bcpoli discussions & constant jibes & jokes in the #BCLeg hallways.” ~ Andrew Reeve (BC United leader’s office)
- “It has been an absolute honour to work with you @AdamPOlsen. Truly the Orator of @BCLegislature, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you for everything you’ve done for the people of BC and beyond.” ~ JoJo Beattie (BC Greens leader’s office)
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Mary P Brooke is the editor of Island Social Trends, a publication she launched in 2020 to explore the socioeconomic and political dynamics of the south Vancouver Island region, BC politics, and national issues.
Island Social Trends publishes daily at IslandSocialTrends.ca and bi-weekly in print. Premium Subscribers may purchase the PDF version of the print edition, which is delivered by email.
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