Vancouver Island NDP MLAs say leader Adrian Dix's resignation was the right decision for the party.
Here's what several told the Times Colonist after Dix's announcement he would resign but remain as interim leader until a leadership vote next year.
Rob Fleming (Victoria-Swan Lake)
"It was the right thing to do."
"People appreciate that he will remain as a front and centre MLA."
Carole James (Victoria-Beacon Hill)
"I think Adrian did what he needed to do to unite the party and unite the caucus and that was to step down. Adrian put us first and that speaks volumes."
"The easiest thing for Adrian to do would have been to walk away. But he isn't."
On whether the party suffer the same infighting that occurred around her resignation in 2011: "There's some maturity in our caucus that wasn't there awhile ago. And I hope that continues on throughout the party, because I think the most important thing for all of us is to focus on the work ahead."
John Horgan (Juan de Fuca):
"I've been and continue to be a close friend of Adrian's and not surprisinglyhe used a full measure of grace to advise the caucus today of where we were going to go. I applaudhim for that. The challenge now for a caucus and party is how do we take the space he's given us since the election? The melancholy has passed, the shock is over, and now we have to get back to providing representation for the hundreds of thousands of people who voted for the NDP and the many more we need to convince to do that next time."
"He has earned everyone's respect through his work ethic and pulling together a party 2.5 years ago would have not even have been considered a likely government of British Columbia. Adrian has earned the respect and admiration of caucus."
On whether Horgan is considering a possible leadership bid: "I would be foolish not to [consider it]."
"I ran last time, I ran a positive campaign, I had a lot of fun and met a lot of people. I have not talked to people until now because of my respect for Adrian and the position as leader. Now I have to gauge what role I should play to meet the objectives we all have, which is to form the next government."
"The people are now already jockeying and that's not disrespectful or unexpected. Adrian foreshadowed where we were going and now he's made his call publicly, we have to figure out where we go."
Maurine Karagianis (Esquimalt-Royal Roads):
"Adrian has done a fantastic job as leader. This seems to be the next logical step coming out of the election campaign and the election loss. I think he's picked the path that we as a caucus all find very supportable, that he'll stay on until we've chosen another leader. That gives us continuity."
Leonard Krog (Nanaimo):
"Adrian's announcement came as no surprise and it's consistent with Adrian that he would put the party first."
"Regardless of what the public may think or believe or say, I never questioned his ability to be premier and I think clearly the campaign didn't go the way we wanted but if the people had elected Adrian Dix premier on May 14 I think at the end of a four year term they would have said he'd done a very good job. He had all the qualities that were necessary. But if you can't win an election, it doesn't matter how good you are. Winning doesn't always go to the smartest person in the room."
Lana Popham (Saanich South):
"I can tell you that although I completely support his decision, I think it's the right decision, it was hard to watch him talk about how he made that decision and why he made that decision."
"Watching him work so hard over the last little while, know this is a huge dream he had to let go of personally. So for me it was a bit emotional to watch him. I'm very proud of the decision he made."
"I think there were many options but I think he took the best one."
