Local MLA Joan McIntyre this week joined a growing list of B.C. Liberal lawmakers in announcing their intention not to seek re-election in 2013.
McIntyre, who has served as West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA since 2005, announced her decision in a statement issued by the B.C. Liberal Government Caucus on Tuesday (Sept. 4).
"With nomination meetings in process for the scheduled May 2013 date, I thought it is time to clarify my intentions publicly and allow for an orderly search for a new candidate by the party riding executive," McIntyre said.
"It has been a great privilege to serve this region for the last eight years, both before and after the 2010 Olympic Games, and I will continue to work hard for my constituents right up until the day the election is called," she added. "I also will be continuing my responsibilities in Victoria as Chair of the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth, as appointed by the premier."
McIntyre, co-founder of the polling and marketing firm McIntyre and Mustel (now Mustel Group), first put her name forward for the nomination after then-West Vancouver-Garibaldi MLA Ted Nebbeling announced his retirement. She won the seat with 50 per cent of the vote, and won again in 2009 after the riding's name was changed to West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.
In 2008-'09, McIntyre served as B.C.'s Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations after serving as Premier Gordon Campbell's designate and Chair of the Environmental Working Group of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region for several years. During her tenure at Intergovernmental Relations, the enhanced driver's licence for land travel to the U.S. was introduced, the francophone agreement with the federal government was extended, and the groundwork for the second daily Amtrak train from Seattle to Vancouver was laid.
The second-term MLA said the time spent in the constituency serving individuals and organizations, attending events and interfacing with local governments and First Nations has been particularly rewarding. "As the MLA, I was given an amazing opportunity for collaboration as we worked together to build and showcase the entire Sea to Sky region," she said.
Among the projects she counted as "major legacies" during her time in office are the upgrades to Highway 99, Olympic infrastructure including the Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood in Whistler, the adoption of the Sea to Sky Land Resource Management Plan and the annexation of the Malamute lands into Stawamus Chief Provincial Park.
