The race is on for a group hoping to make history by running the first successful recall campaign in B.C. against an MLA.
However, organizer Chad Moats indicated he will consider pulling the plug on the recall effort if the numbers are low by the end of the month.
It is expected the campaign will need to obtain about 2,000 signatures a week to succeed.
As of Monday, Feb. 7, the recall campaign against Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake had gathered 200 signatures.
Moats noted the effort got off to a slow start, in part because the campaign didn’t get the voters list until Feb. 4 and due to the snowstorm that dumped a dozen centimetres of the white stuff on Kamloops on Sunday.
Moats is confident the campaign will pick up steam this week.
After an unsuccessful first attempt on Vancouver Island, FightHST has turned its attention to Lake and to Comox Valley Liberal MLA Don McRae.
In Kamloops-North Kamloops, registered canvassers have 60 days, until April 4, to obtain the signatures of at least 15,299 registered voters, which is 40 per cent of the 38,246 voters registered to vote in the May 12, 2009 provincial election.
The recall bid officially began on Feb. 3.
FightHST has 57 registered canvassers in the constituency, with a few more expected to join in the coming days.
Despite the failed first recall campaign against Liberal MLA Ida Chong in Oak Bay - with Moats himself calling the target “almost insurmountable” - he said the morale among volunteers remains high.
“We just want to give people the option,” he said.
Once the recall window has ended on April 4, Elections BC has 42 days from the date the petition pages are submitted to the chief electoral officer to verify those who signed the petition were entitled to do so.
If the recall campaign succeeds, Lake’s seat will become vacant and a byelection must be called within 90 days.
The recall office is located at 259 Tranquille Rd. and is open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.