Personally, I was glad to see Jennifer Rice wasn't bullied into stepping down from council while running for MLA.
Leaving a sure thing, which was being an elected representative for the people of Prince Rupert, because of something that may or may not happen, being elected the provincial representative for the North Coast riding, makes no sense whatsoever. It would be like leaving a job you have and love because you want to hopefully, maybe get hired somewhere else — nobody in their right mind would do that and it's unrealistic to expect the same from Rice.
But with the election in hand, now Jennifer Rice must step down from her position on council. The sooner she does it, the better.
She is no longer aspiring to represent the people of the North Coast at the provincial level, she is the representative of the North Coast. Being the voice of a region and being the voice of a community within that region is a blatant conflict of interest that can only be resolved by vacating one of the two positions.
You simply cannot be a champion for the people outside of Prince Rupert if it what they want conflicts with the wishes of Prince Rupert residents because those same residents have entrusted you to work on their behalf for the benefit of the community.
A perfect example is the boundary expansion — Metlakatla, Port Edward and others have expressed concerns to an idea that would benefit the City of Prince Rupert and the council on which Rice sits. If Port Clements wants to discuss the feasibility of or support for a container terminal on Haida Gwaii that would take traffic from Fairview Terminal, there is no way to look out for the best interests of both communities in the dual role of MLA and city councillor.
Yes, there will be an unexpected cost to the taxpayers of Prince Rupert if Rice resigns in the form of a by-election, but the region needs a dedicated and unbiased representative just as much as Rupertites deserve a dedicated councillor.
Do the right thing, Jennifer, and step down.