B.C. premier says he will run again

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell says that contrary to rampant speculation in recent days, he's sticking around to run in the next B.C. election despite taking a hit in opinion polls over the harmonized sales tax.

Rumours began flying that Campbell might bow out of politics before the next scheduled vote in May 2013 after he made an unprecedented reference to his age, 62, in an interview Thursday.

"My goal is to run again," he told Fraser Valley radio station CHWK.

"I think the musing was because I mentioned I was 62, and I'll make sure everyone knows I'll be 65 when I run again."

Campbell said he has too much important work left to do on the economy, aboriginal issues and climate change.

"I am concerned about the world that we leave to our grandchildren," he said.

Campbell said he has three grandchildren himself.

While Campbell admitted his Liberals are taking a beating in opinion polls over the harmonized sales tax, he said the anger is more about the way the tax came in rather than the HST itself.

Prior to the 2009 campaign, Campbell said he had no intention of bringing in an HST, but then announced just weeks after the election that he would introduce the tax after all.

The tax was a "bolt out of the blue" even for him, he said, but he's sure people will embrace it after they see its benefits.

Organizers of a petition against the HST say they are two thirds of way toward their goal of collecting 10 per cent of the signatures of registered voters in all 85 B.C. ridings in their bid to derail the tax.