Dr. Moira Stilwell has become the first person to announce her candidacy for leadership of the troubled BC Liberals.

The announcement was made on The Bill Good Show on CKNW radio Monday morning.

Stilwell -- the first-term MLA for Vancouver-Langara -- said that she has already informed Premier Gordon Campbell of her resignation from cabinet. The radiologist was minister for regional economic and skills development, and was head of nuclear medicine at St. Paul's Hospital before she was elected last year.

She says that she hasn't told other party members about her decision to run and that the economy will be her top priority.

"I think I have a new voice, a new perspective and a new way of thinking and that's what people are telling me that they want," Stilwell said.

The party has been rocked by turmoil since Campbell announced that he was stepping down on Nov. 3, and candidates to replace him have been slow to step up.

Last week, ousted energy minister Bill Bennett called Campbell a "bully" and said that the leader had brought some party members to tears.

But Stilwell said her relationship with the premier has always been warm, and that she hasn't seen the foul-mouthed man described by Bennett.

"I never experienced it, and I never witnessed it," she said.

Former Liberal cabinet minister-turned-Independent MLA Blair Lekstrom ended weeks of speculation Monday, announcing he's not interested in the job and will concentrate instead on running again to represent his northeastern B.C. riding.

"For me at this time, it's just not the decision I'm going to make to go for it," he said.

Lekstrom, widely regarded as one of the most popular members of the Liberal caucus, shocked the government last June when he announced his resignation as energy minister and quit the party caucus to protest the harmonized sales tax.

Speaking to CTV News, Lekstrom said the nastiness in politics is a key factor against running.

"When you balance it out and you look at what a person wants to do, the benefits did not outweigh the downside of that."

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts announced last week that she would not seek the nomination. Her name was floated by observers as an ideal candidate for leadership because she is not linked to the unpopular HST.

Several potential candidates remain, including current cabinet ministers Kevin Falcon, George Abbott, Mike de Jong and Rich Coleman. Coleman has said that he will announce his decision on entering the race this week.

The Liberal leadership vote is scheduled for Feb. 26.

With files from The Canadian Press

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