By Adam Donnelly

Life after Lake: who’s next in the North Thompson?

Sep 2, 2016 | 4:46 PM

KAMLOOPS — Just one day after Terry Lake announced he would not be seeking another term as the Kamloops-North Thompson MLA, one candidate has put his name forth as a hopeful replacement, and there’s talk of another. With the election still 8 months away, there’s plenty of time for each to make their case to be the Liberal part representative in the riding.

For incumbent MLA Terry Lake, the time was right for a change. “For me and for my family, I think the time was right,” Lake said, in an interview on Thursday.

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After two terms in office as the MLA for the Kamloops-North Thompson riding, Lake announced he won’t be seeking a third, but he’s not worried about who will up to replace him.

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“I know there’ll be no shortage of people that want to step up and represent this great, great community,” Lake said.

Just 26 hours after Lake announced he wouldn’t seek another term, long-time Liberal Steven Puhallo made his intentions to run as Lake’s replacement in the riding known.

“THere’s one thing I’ve always wanted to do politically… that’s to represent the North Thompson valley… in the Provincial Legislature,” Puhallo told gathered media, and supporters.

The question now is, who, if anyone, will oppose Puhallo in the race to be on the ballot for the Liberals in the May 2017 election? Some believe Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar is the heir apparent to Lake.

Milobar made no attempt to hide his intrigue in the idea of provincial politics.

“It certainly does interest me,” Milobar told CFJC Today.

Despite his interest, Milobar says he wants to take time to consult with his family before he decides on his political future.

“I think you really need to take some time to contemplate. We’re only 24 hours after Terry announced [he wouldn’t run in 2017]…” Milobar said. “It’s not a huge rush to have to come to that decision, but  I should have an answer in a week, or so.”

As for Puhallo, he feels the time is right for him, and for his family – and no matter who runs against him, he’ll work hard to make sure it’s his name on the ballot come May 2017.

“My biggest thing is to go out to the membership, sign up new members, talk to the members that we currently have, and work with them to convince them I’m the  best person to take the banner into the 2017 election, no matter who runs against me,” Puhallo said.