When new B.C. Liberal leader Kevin Falcon announced his new-look caucus Feb. 7, there was a notable lack of women.

Of the 27 roles, most of them critics, only seven are females.

91裸聊视频淲e only have seven females,91裸聊视频� Tegart said with a laugh, when asked about the disparity. 91裸聊视频淭he thing is a good leader will go out and recruit really good candidates, and Kevin is very aware of what a good team looks like.

91裸聊视频淩enee Merrifield has a very significant role (Critic for Environment & Climate Change) and Karin Kirkpatrick has a very significant role (Critic for Education, Children, Family Development, & Childcare). And Shirley Bond is staying on as Opposition Leader until such time as Kevin wins a seat.

91裸聊视频淲e do have a limited number of women in our caucus, but they all have a role that I think they91裸聊视频檙e quite pleased with, and some are pretty high profile.91裸聊视频�

Tegart is in her third term as MLA for Fraser-Nicola, and she admitted it91裸聊视频檚 still a tough world for a female politician.

91裸聊视频淧olitics is a tough role to be in as a woman, particularly at a provincial and federal level,91裸聊视频� she said.

Tegart said it91裸聊视频檚 difficult for women to fundraise and difficult to put together a team.

91裸聊视频淣ominations are incredibly difficult for women, and we tend not to nurture women for leadership roles at the provincial and federal levels,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚f you look at school boards, you see quite a number of women because education is something that is near and dear to the heart of moms and females, and that seems to be a natural place for people to get their feet wet in politics.91裸聊视频�

That91裸聊视频檚 where Tegart got her political start, and she said the scariest thing is to put your name on a ballot and have strangers vote for you.

Or not.

91裸聊视频淚n order to win, we have to go out and ask for your vote, and ask for your money to support the campaign,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淲e have to work really, really hard. Sometimes twice as hard as men. I91裸聊视频檝e been so impressed with so many women in my life who91裸聊视频檝e been very successful politically, but I don91裸聊视频檛 know one who would tell you it was easy.91裸聊视频�

The first time Tegart ran for school board, her mom gave her $200 and that was the full campaign budget.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 my understanding that from a male perspective, there91裸聊视频檚 often a team around them and they often have a 91裸聊视频榖agman,91裸聊视频� someone who says 91裸聊视频業 will collect the money,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� Tegart said. 91裸聊视频淭hat just wasn91裸聊视频檛 my experience. I was always amazed when people came up to me and said, 91裸聊视频楬ow do I donate?91裸聊视频� And I thought, 91裸聊视频榊ou want to donate? How exciting!91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

Tegart drew inspiration from good friend Carol James, former leader of the B.C. NDP who served as Finance Minister under current Premier John Horgan. She watched James rise in the party, and under her leadership the NDP captured 41.52 per cent of the popular vote and 33 out of 79 seats in 2005 election. But she was forced out of the leadership position in 2010, with 13 caucus members urging her to resign.

91裸聊视频淭o watch what happened to Carol makes you really cautious because how many women have actually been able to stay in leadership jobs?91裸聊视频� Tegart asked.

In the most recent provincial election, Chilliwack Liberal candidate Kelly Velonis lamented the low level of discourse on social media, and said some people spent more time talking about her appearance than her party91裸聊视频檚 policies.

That91裸聊视频檚 one of the many reasons Tegart said she91裸聊视频檚 avoided social media.

91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 even look at it,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淭here is nothing that is off base and you91裸聊视频檝e got to get a thick skin. The way I deal with it is I know what my goal is and I91裸聊视频檓 here to do the work. I don91裸聊视频檛 have time for Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and whatever else. I get up every morning with a list of things to do, and at the end of the day most of them are checked off.

91裸聊视频淏ut social media has definitely changed everything, and made it tougher.91裸聊视频�

So is there hope? Is there anything to suggest that when Tegart talks about these same things in a decade, things will have changed?

She believes the answer is yes.

91裸聊视频淎bsolutely,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淲e need young people. We need ethnic groups. We need a welcoming process to come into politics, be part of a team, be part of an election and have fun doing it. We need to see more of that and less of social media and sniping at each other. This is probably the most satisfying job I91裸聊视频檝e ever had because of the people, and the things you can accomplish to make their lives better.

91裸聊视频淏ut in 10 years? We91裸聊视频檝e got a lot of dynamic young women who right now are pretty busy with families. But as kids grow and you get more time to contribute to your community and maybe the province, hopefully they think this is an honourable job to do.91裸聊视频�

eric.welsh@hopestandard.com
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