Given Rafe Mair led three different Ministries in the Socred party from which the current B.C. Liberal Party originated, it is tempting to say "wow", but really this is no surprise to me (and I do not mean that in a pejorative sense):

Ex-Socred cabinet minister Rafe Mair declares that he will vote NDP (Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight, Feb 25, 2009)

When I was in government (1975-80) I was Minister, first, for Consumer and Corporate Affairs. During that time I passed more consumer legislation than anyone before or since including licensing Car dealers (with six of them in caucus setting their collective hair on fire) forced the Banks to acknowledge and obey BC laws for the first time, forced serious reporting changes to the Vancouver Stock Exchanges for which they have never forgiven me, licensed Travel Agents and made them create a fund to bring home passengers stranded by bankrupt charter companies and so on.

As Environment Minister I stopped the government killing of wolves, stopped exploration for and mining of uranium and went to Seattle and negotiated the saving of the Skagit River from a raising of the Ross Dam which Seattle was permitted to do under a 1941 deal with the BC government.

As Minister of Health I brought in the Homecare program and Palliative Care.

I tell you all these things because there is no way in the world I could have ever done these things for the public of BC had Gordon Campbell been Premier.

The political ground has shifted dramatically and the present day version of the old Socreds is, I think, the party Carole James leads. I know that there are supporters of Ms James that are hard line lefties just as when I was with Bill Bennett there were supporters and indeed members of Caucus who were near fascists. That sort of thing will always happen in a two party system. Rafe Mair

Ticking away far away from the headlines of economic doom is an important issue which Rafe has taken up as his cause: assuring B.C. forever has independent control over its energy and water policy. Making Hydro, its future, and our access to environmentally responsible, inexpensive, energy an election issue sounds like a fine idea to me.

Maybe Mr. Mair's long-held views against the coastal salmon farming industry will surface in this election too.