So here it is… Barry Penner’s last act as MLA Barry Penner: Sending in his official resignation with the help of his Petite Penner Protege.

It is telling that nobody has yet stepped up to wave the Liberal banner in Chilliwack-Hope.  Those are some The Environment-sized shoes to fill.

Thanks for everything, Barry. It’s been a lot of fun.

(…and I love that your office is decorated with pictures of yourself. It seems appropriate.)

[SOURCE]

Barry Penner seems to be taking this whole ‘retirement’ thing a little too seriously. Look Barry, just because you are retiring from public life doesn’t mean you need to be moving in to a retirement community. You’re still young!

Of course, John Les is just tagging along as usual.

[SOURCE]

Barry Penner, with his wife and daughter packing up his office. Notice that he still has the baby tucked under his arm. Totally doable, is all I’m saying. Especially for Barry Penner.

[SOURCE]

What, you didn’t seriously think I’d go all John Les on you?

First, El Gordo left the big job over some minor misunderstanding and got shipped off to some other country by mistake (British Columbia… Britain… eh, close enough).

Then Chuck Strahl decided to step away from the Federal game for some reason and handed the keys over to Mini-Chuck (Don’t dent the riding, boy! And bring it back with a full tank of gas!).

And now Barry Penner leaves behind the life of glamour and wonder that is being a provincial MLA and cabinet minister in order to spend more time with his family (a bold move that no politician has ever dared consider before).

Now only one still stands…

So tune in tomorrow as “Barry Penner is AWESOME” dies and “John Les… ugh. I guess.” rises from the ashes!

You know what I love about this picture? No, it isn’t Barry Penner looking all official in front of a door and sign that look even more official. No, it’s not that the sign gives me the mental image of  Barry Penner spending his days at a desk in the middle of a Scrooge McDuck-style money vault. No, it’s that the picture was taken (according to the Government Flickr page) on August 16th… two days before Barry Penner announced he was stepping down. According to interviews, the tipping point for his decision came earlier this month, so he very likely knew that he would be stepping down as Attorney General while the photo was being taken in front of a gigantic golden ATTORNEY GENERAL sign.

But did he cancel the photo shoot? Did he ‘reschedule’ to a later day so as to keep his decision private but not waste the time taking pictures that would be relevant for only two days? Of course not. Because the world needs as any pictures of Barry Penner as it can possible get, and this… this is a good one.

[SOURCE]

Okay, so Barry Penner wants to spend more time with his new daughter. Fine. I’ve certainly heard of worse reasons to quit a job. But the thing is… he doesn’t have to quit his job just to spend time with his kid. As he shows right there, a baby is the perfect accessory for today’s busy MLA, both classy and practical! He can just tuck little Fintry there under his arm, and go about his business as usual, MLA-ing all over the place. And knowing how much of a trend-setter Barry Penner is, pretty soon everyone in Victoria will be showing up for work with their offspring along for the ride.

[SOURCE]

BAM! Barry Penner! Right between the eyes!

…right?

Barry Penner wants a hat like that. Like, he REALLY wants a hat like that.

It would go so well with his safety-orange jacket.

Barry Penner’s photos are a lot less exciting since he left The Environment post. Nothing against these ladies, but standing next to two of his employees in front of a sign in what looks like a hotel lobby just lacks a certain something.

[SOURCE]

Since becoming Attorney General, Barry Penner is now the Master of the HST Referendum (seriously, that’s on his business card). That means that no matter where he is, he has to deal with 12% more press. Well, until the results of the mail-in ballot are in. Perhaps.

[SOURCE]