North Coast MLA Bill Belsey says he's content to sit on the back benches, for now, and isn't expecting to be named to cabinet in the wake of deputy premier Christy Clark's resignation this week.
"That would be fun," he said, about the possibility of being promoted to deputy premier, "but I'm quite contentÂ… I enjoy travelling around my riding and talking to people. I'm busy enough doing what I'm doing."
Mr. Belsey said he sits on eight or nine committees, including the standing committee on finance, which is currently travelling throughout the province to hear the public's budget priorities.
He said he has had a couple of discussions with Premier Gordon Campbell about his political future, and has made it clear that he wants to spend his first term learning how government works and paying lots of attention to his own riding.
Cabinet ministers have to spend almost all their time dealing with difficult issues and have little left over for their own ridings, he said.
Asked which ministry he would like to head if he had the choice, Mr. Belsey immediately picked Energy and Mines. His second choice was Sustainable Resource Management.
Meanwhile, the MLA will be spending next week at the Union of BC Municipalities conference in Kelowna.
"It's a great opportunity to meet mayors and councils from across my riding," he said. "It's a golden opportunity to meet everybody."