A Coquitlam city councillor will be stepping aside next month to campaign for a provincial seat.
On Thursday, Coun. Linda Reimer sent a letter to Mayor Richard Stewart and fellow councillors to ask for a formal leave of absence - without pay - from when the writ drops on April 16 to provincial election day on May 14.
Reimer is the BC Liberal candidate for Port Moody-Coquitlam, a riding currently held by NDP MLA Joe Trasolini, who is running for re-election.
Stewart said yesterday he has accepted her request.
"During the writ period, it will be hard for her to concentrate on her council duties so this seems to be the most logical thing to do," he told The Tri-City News.
Coquitlam Coun. Selina Robinson, the NDP contender for Coquitlam-Maillardville, said she has yet to decide if she'll take time out from her civic job to campaign for the provincial chair now held by NDP MLA Diane Thorne, who is retiring.
When she won the nomination, Robinson said she didn't plan on vacating her civic seat "until we're into an election mode where I feel I might not be able to do justice to my [council] job. It does make sense to step down at some point and take an unpaid leave so I can focus on getting elected."
