Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton may be losing a member of his federal caucus next year to the party's provincial leadership race in B.C.
Peter Julian said he is "getting a lot of encouragement" to seek the leadership and plans to shortly make a decision on whether to run.
The Burnaby-New Westminster MP, first elected in 2004, is back home talking to as many New Democrats as he can to measure how much support he might garner for the April 17 vote in Vancouver. Meanwhile, the Liberals are choosing a successor to Premier Gordon Campbell on Feb. 26.
"I am going to have to make a decision in the next week or so," the NDP international trade critic said in an interview on Tuesday.
He said he is well aware there are others also now weighing whether to try and succeed Carole James, who resigned earlier this month over criticisms of her leadership levelled by 13 members of her caucus.
Finance critic Bruce Ralston said Tuesday he is now among the ranks of possible candidates. "Some people have asked me to think about it so I am thinking about it and making some inquiries," said Mr. Ralston, MLA for Surrey-Whalley, who has been at the forefront of NDP attacks over the harmonized sales tax
Like other possible candidates interviewed Tuesday by The Globe and Mail, Mr. Julian said newly announced party rules for the contest have not been a deterrent.
"The rules are neutral for my decision," he said.
They include a provision that voting members must have been party members 90 days before the April vote. In effect, that sets a mid-January deadline for signing up new members who might support any particular campaign.
"It's good there is time for people to join the party. I hoped the period of time would have been longer. My decision is [based]on how folks in the party feel in British Columbia. Those are the folks I am consulting now," Mr. Julian said.
Opposition House Leader Mike Farnworth, tipped in polls as a popular possible contender, said the rules seemed pretty standard. "I don't think they advantage or disadvantage anybody," he said. "I think they're quite fair and will allow for a good contest to take place."
The Port Coquitlam-Burke Mountain MLA, who served as a cabinet minister in past NDP governments, said there was plenty of time to sign up members as required. "If [candidates]are determined, you can sign up a lot of members," he said.
But he added: "The rules will not have an impact on whether or not I decide to run."
Mr. Farnworth, a veteran B.C. MLA, would be an insider. Were he to run, Mr. Julian would face the challenge of being an outsider to provincial politics trying to heal a badly divided caucus in the wake of Ms. James's departure.
"I think everyone wants to heal the divisions and that's the most important thing. I have been talking to MLAs on both sides of the so-called division. Everyone wants to get together and start working again," he said.
George Heyman, executive director of the Sierra Club B.C. and former president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union, said he has pored over the rules as he tries to decide whether to run.
"There's nothing in [the rules[ that causes me concern one way or another. What I am going to continue to do over the holiday season is continue to talk to people. I continue to have people urging me to run, but it's a complex decision," he said.
"I am going to consult with friends and colleagues and, most importantly, I am going to consult with my family and my partner. This is obviously a decision that will have a significant impact on my life were I to proceed."
He said he won't rush that process, but will decide early in 2011.