MIKE SMYTH: Expect Horgan to pick a mix of old pros and rookies for cabinet
Expect a diverse group of New Democrats in terms of gender, ethnicity, geography
There’s always a sense of intense curiosity and even mild historical significance when a rookie MLA gets up to ask their first question in the B.C. legislature.
Such was the case June 28 when Bowinn Ma, the freshly elected NDP MLA from North Vancouver, stood up and threw a devastating fastball at Premier Christy Clark.
“Countless parents in my riding have contacted me with concerns about overcrowded schools,” Ma confidently fired at Clark.
“Schools in my community are bursting at the seams. Children will be languishing in portables and overcrowded schools this fall. My question is for the premier: Why doesn’t she recognize that parents don’t trust her to fix the problems that she created?”
Even the unflappable Clark seemed grudgingly impressed as she rose to deliver a pre-scripted answer about all the money the Liberals are pouring into the school system (while not mentioning the government was forced to do it by the Supreme Court of Canada.)
But the moment was hardly about Clark and all about this new MLA: Oh, so this is the one who broke through the Liberals’ North Shore stronghold and knocked off a Liberal cabinet minister, eh? Impressive. At 31, Ma is the youngest MLA in the legislature. A civil engineer, she was elected president of UBC’s Engineering Undergraduate Society, which named an award after her for her service. She is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants. She was a project manager at Vancouver International Airport before she got elected.
And she’s a lock to be named to John Horgan’s first cabinet next week, perhaps as technology minister. (Unless I’ve now thoroughly jinxed it for her.)
Ma and every other NDP MLA will be waiting by their phones this week, hoping for a call from Horgan with the happy news that they cracked his cabinet lineup.
Ma is expected to be one several new faces on the team, though there will be many others — including some NDP veterans — who come away disappointed.
I’m told Horgan is determined to follow the lead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and unveil a gender-balanced cabinet — half women, half men.
Since the NDP caucus has 19 women MLAs and 22 men, it means female cabinet hopefuls will have a slight edge at selection time.
Then there’s the required regional balance. The party is badly under-represented in rural regions, with just four MLAs outside of Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
That gives a huge geographic advantage to those far-flung four: Michelle Mungall (Nelson-Creston), Katrine Conroy (Kootenay West), Doug Donaldson (Stikine) and Jennifer Rice (North Coast).
Expect at least three of them to make cabinet, if not all four.
Of course, there must be a good ethnic balance in the cabinet. Horgan also wants LGBTQ representatives, too. The NDP leader has lots of options to achieve all that with an impressively diverse caucus.
I guess this is all a polite way of saying the worst thing for an ambitious NDP MLA to be right now is a straight white guy from Vancouver. I’m looking at you, George Heyman. Heyman is a savvy, two-term MLA from Vancouver-Fairview with deep roots in the labour and environmental movements. He’d normally be a shoo-in, but all the above-mentioned factors may keep him on the sidelines.
That’s unless Spencer Chandra Herbert gets passed over instead. I know both men are nervous, though Chandra Herbert’s hero status in the Vancouver gay community may tip the scales.
As for Horgan’s other choices, a lot of them are no-brainers. But there may be some surprises, too. Some other names to watch:
CAROLE JAMES: Horgan remained loyal to the former NDP leader during a bitter caucus uprising against her after consecutive election defeats.
Now James will get her reward with a senior cabinet post. She could be finance minister.
LEONARD KROG: Some thought he could be Attorney-General, but I’m hearing that gender balance thing could be his undoing, too. He could end up as Speaker instead, the best consolation prize out there.
RAJ CHOUHAN: Chouhan is the deputy speaker and the word is he wants the top job. He would be the first Asian Speaker in B.C. history. But if Krog gets it, Chouhan would be in cabinet.
MIKE FARNWORTH: The popular NDP veteran could be solicitor-general. (He has been an excellent justice critic.) Or maybe Horgan will make him a fixer to take on multiple trouble files. He will remain government house leader, I hear.
ADRIAN DIX: The former NDP leader was a relentless critic of the Liberals’ mismanagement of the child-welfare system. But was he too effective? He could be “rewarded” as the minister of children and families, the toughest portfolio in cabinet.
MELANIE MARK: A rising NDP star, some think she would be the natural choice for children’s minister. But that job is a destroyer that eats people up. Horgan may give her something less soul-sapping.
DAVID EBY: A grim 6-foot-7 destroyer of Liberals, especially on housing affordability. His devastating work on that file is a key reason the NDP won so many seats across Metro Vancouver. Housing minister? Attorney-General? The latter, I think.
ROB FLEMING: Another likable guy who swung the wrecking ball effectively and caused the Liberals plenty of damage. If there’s any justice, he will be education minister.
SHANE SIMPSON: Some might think he would be one of those Vancouver white guys who loses the demographic lottery. But he’s very close to Horgan, who won’t leave his pal behind. Simpson will be there.
Other names on my scorecard: Bruce Ralston, Harry Bains, Mable Elmore, Gary Begg, Jinny Sims, Judy Darcy, Katrina Chen, Ravi Kahlon, Bob D’Eith, Scott Fraser, Lisa Beare.
Don’t go betting the mortgage on any of this, though. The selection of a cabinet is the most personal choice of any premier. Only a Vulcan mind meld would reveal the exact choices of John Horgan, an unapologetic Star Trek geek.
All will be revealed July 18, when Horgan and his new minority government are sworn in, and boldly go on a mission that — unlike Capt. Kirk’s — could be something less than five years.