Victor Lau stepping down as Sask. Green Party leader

The Saskatchewan Green Party is now the second provincial party to lose its leader since the April election.

At the party’s annual general meeting in Moose Jaw Saturday, Victor Lau announced he was stepping away from the leadership.

Lau said he family going through some big changes, and stepping down from the leadership will allow him to reorient himself. But Lau also mentioned with the defeat the party suffered in the last provincial election, fresh blood might bring in some new ideas.

“We couldn’t move the numbers. So I just thought, ‘well, I’m out of ideas.’ I think it needs somebody else at the helm,” said Lau. “If I stay on, I just feel like I’m an anchor and I think what they need now is someone with some helium to lift off the balloon or take the ship up into the air, get those numbers higher.”

The decision was made in just the days before the AGM. Lau’s name was the only one on the ballot for the executive vote, which was released on June 12.

Lau worried about the reaction from members, but said they understood his decision, and he said he could see a new buzz in the air after his announcement as people looked for new inspiration.

Though he won’t be the leader anymore, Lau will still be around to give advice if needed and to help in the transition.

“I’m not abandoning the party, it’s just that I think it’s time for someone to figure out a new way to go.”

Lau was elected to the leadership in 2011, and ran unsuccessfully in the two provincial elections since.

Shawn Setyo, who is based in Saskatoon, will act as interim leader in the mean time. Lau had nothing but good things to say about Setyo, calling him a “steady hand”.