Krog to run for mayor in Nanaimo
A win would prompt MLA to leave, jeopardize fragile NDP government
VICTORIA Longtime New Democrat MLA Leonard Krog has announced his bid for mayor of Nanaimo, a move that could put his seat in the provincial legislature up for a byelection and imperil the fragile minority government of Premier John Horgan.
Krog, who has spent 18 years as an MLA, said he was overwhelmed by an outpouring of support across the city ’s political spectrum asking him to run for mayor. He said he’ll continue to serve as the region’s MLA through to the Oct. 20 municipal election, but won’t expect to be paid his MLA salary through the month-long municipal campaign.
“I will continue to attend all the community events, I’ll be in my constituency office every day,” he said on Wednesday.
If he wins the mayoral race, Krog said he’ll then resign his provincial seat.
If he loses, he’ll continue as Nanaimo MLA.
Liberal MLA Michelle Stilwell, from the neighbouring riding of Parksville-Qualicum, scoffed at Krog’s plan. “Why are you riding both sides of the fence?” she asked. “Make your decision. What do you want to do, be the MLA or the mayor of Nanaimo?”
Krog said many people had asked him to restore stability to a Nanaimo city hall that has suffered several years of serious dysfunction, police investigations and firings.
“People believe I can put together and run and manage a good council,” Krog said. “And this isn’t like an ordinary civic election. If this community had a great council and things were humming along, nobody would have asked me and I wouldn’t have given it consideration. But those aren’t the facts. The fact is, we have a city in trouble, that’s the kindest thing I could say, that has become a bit of a laughingstock.”
A Krog victory in Nanaimo’s municipal race would spark a byelection that could dramatically change the balance of power in the provincial legislature.
The confidence deal between the NDP and B.C. Greens currently gives the two parties a combined 44 seats, compared to 42 Liberals and one independent (Speaker Darryl Plecas).
Should the Liberals win Krog ’s seat in a byelection, they would tie the NDP- Green alliance with 43 seats, forcing Plecas as Speaker to cast tiebreaking votes. Such a scenario could hamstring the ability of the Horgan administration to pass legislation, and potentially lead to its defeat.
Krog dismissed such a possibility, noting that the Nanaimo riding has voted NDP in almost every election since 1963. The only two exceptions occurred in 1969 when popular Nanaimo mayor Frank Ney won the seat for the Social Credit party, and in 2001 when the B.C. Liberals swept the province, reducing the NDP to only two seats.
“It’s a very safe seat,” said Krog. “And it’s a safe seat because it’s historically safe, and also this government isn’t a tired old government.”
He added he was “surprised at the level of what I’ll call Chicken Little paranoia” about the potential impact of his decision on the provincial government. Premier Horgan would have six months to call a byelection, potentially delaying any vote until as late as April.
On Wednesday Horgan said he knows Krog thought long and hard about the decision.
“There’s been a long-standing challenge in the city and Leonard believes, as many people believe, he’s the best person to address that,” said Horgan. “I wish him all the best.”
A lawyer and longtime opposition attorney general critic, Krog, 65, was considered a strong contender to make Horgan’s cabinet after the NDP won power in 2017. However, he was passed over as Horgan sought to make the cabinet gender balanced.
Krog admitted he was disappointed. He joked that he agreed with the assessment of Victoria Times Colonist columnist Les Leyne, who recently wrote that Krog spent much of his career “delivering speeches to a mostly empty legislature,” first as an opposition critic and then as a government backbencher.
“Every legislator wants to be in cabinet,” said Krog. “But this is an opportunity to do something more for my community.”
Stilwell said she was surprised Krog would leave his party in a bind to run municipally.
The Liberals are hopeful for their chances in a byelection, added Stilwell, because governments traditionally have trouble winning byelections, even in safe ridings.
B.C. Liberal Party Leader Andrew Wilkinson wished Krog well, adding that “with an unstable minority government propped up by three Green MLAs in the legislature, the implications of this byelection are significant for the entire province.”