B.C. Green Party Leader Jane Sterk is resigning from her party and leaving politics this month.
Sterk, who made the announcement Tuesday on Twitter, said she was at her best-before date in politics and wants to pursue other adventures.
“I felt it was a good moment for me to do other things,” she said in an interview. “I’m excited about my own future. I’m at a stage in my life that if I want to do something different, I need to get on with it.”
The Green party annual meeting is set for Aug. 24 in Vancouver, and Sterk was to face a mandatory leadership review. She said her resignation will be made official at the meeting.
Sterk left a career in municipal politics, as an Esquimalt councillor, to lead the Green party in 2007. She grew the party from fringe status to capture almost eight per cent of the popular vote in May’s provincial election and elect the first Green MLA to the legislature — Andrew Weaver in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
Weaver became the focus of attention for media after the election, she said. “That’s how it should be. It just shows me the party is in a good shape to go.”
Sterk was unsuccessful in winning her own seat, despite four bids for public office. Most recently, she lost to NDP MLA Carole James by almost 3,500 votes in Victoria-Beacon Hill.
Sterk had said she was going to quit if she couldn’t win the riding, but then chose to stay as leader at the request of Weaver. “It was always on the basis I would see whether or not there was a useful role for me to play,” Sterk said.
Whether Weaver will run for the leadership is unknown. He could not be reached for comment.
Sterk said she has no regrets walking away from the Green party at the most successful point in its history. “I think I’m leaving the party in good shape.”
