Change Has Come... To British Columbia

I realize the title is a bit 'Obama-esqe', but I honestly believe that something dramatic happened in Vancouver on Saturday evening.  Christy Clark won the Liberal Leadership race and will likely officially become BC's next Premier sometime this week when she takes the oath.

I was in the room as the announcement was made and while she gave her first speech.  I realize that politicians say many things  but the sense I got was that she has some very clear ideas about what needs to happen with government.  The irony in politics is that while it's all about serving people and leading people, the reality is that sometimes politicians become isolated from the very people they have been elected to serve.  That's not a knock on the people who do the job.  It's just an observation about the nature of what happens to people who do the job over time.  What's interesting to me about a former politician, columnist and talk show host becoming Premier is that for the past few years, she's had the opportunity to hear what the voters really think and what they are really saying.  (I don't think you can get a much rawer sample than what happens on talk radio....)  In my mind that's a distinct advantage in the short term, especially if she's able to remember what she's heard people say for the past 3 years.

The downside of being a former talk show host who has now become Premier is that you've said a lot of things, some fairly provocative and outrageous that are all a matter of public record.  I'm guessing there will be a few things our new Premier might regret having said over the past few years.  (There's probably an easy lesson in there about the power of the tongue, but we'll leave that for another day....)

There are some significant challenges.  She has the uneviable task of building a team made up of people who were hoping someone else would win.  She needs to form an inner team (Cabinet) that will help forge a new vision and direction.  She needs to win a seat...

These will be interesting days in BC.  We need you to pray.  The future depends on it!