The B.C. Conservative Party has taken a major step toward choosing a new leader, establishing the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) to oversee the race, including administration of the rules and procedures.
Scott Lamb, former federal Conservative Party president, will chair the committee. It will have seven voting members and three non-voting members. Skeena MLA Claire Rattée will represent the B.C. Conservative caucus as a voting member.
“Our LEOC team will commence its important work right away to set the rules, processes, and administration for the leadership contest early in the new year with the aim of commencing the election for a new leader of the Conservative Party of B.C. as soon as possible thereafter,” Lamb said in a Jan. 2 news release.
A timeline for this work was not given. More information will be made available in the “coming weeks,” according to the party.
The five other voting members of the committee are Don Nightengale, a former national councillor of the federal Conservatives, Allie Blades, the interim chief of staff to the B.C. Conservative caucus, Sharon White, a lawyer and party volunteer, Gavin Marshall, an employment and labour lawyer, and B.C. Conservative Party President Aisha Estey.
Non-voting members include B.C. Conservative board member Sacha Peter, party executive director Angelo Isidorou and party legal counsel Bruce Hallsor.
Until the party race is concluded, Trevor Halford will continue lead the party, but he has not declared his intention to run. Former leader John Rustad stepped down on Dec. 4. No major candidates have stepped forward and definitively said they would run to replace Rustad.