Another territorial Liberal leadership contender has pulled out of the race before it's officially started.

'I'm afraid I have to pass on it this time around,' former deputy minister Kirk Cameron said in an interview Friday.

Cameron's name had been bandied about as a potential challenger to current leader Pat Duncan for her Liberal crown. Just after Christmas, the Star had learned he was seriously considering entering the elected side of politics.

'I spent an awful lot of time over the holidays giving the leadership question a lot of thought,' Cameron said.

Some party members wanted the former high-ranking bureaucrat to run.

'It was quite humbling to be approached,' he said. 'I really had to give it some serious consideration.'

However, Cameron said he is not ready to join the political fray.

'Unfortunately, it doesn't fit at this time,' said Cameron, noting he has family responsibilities.

Cameron is one of the owners of the firm Gartner Lee Ltd. and the manager of the Whitehorse office. Cameron said the company mainly helps businesses and governments work through permitting processes, as well as doing other items like groundwater work.

When the Liberal party was in power from 2000 to 2002, Cameron was brought in by Duncan to be the deputy minister of the Executive Council Office. The department is responsible to cabinet, and its deputy minister is considered the head of the deputies throughout the government.

After serving in that role for 1 1/2 years and working on items such as the devolution transfer of natural resources control from Ottawa to the territory, Duncan shuffled Cameron off to become the deputy of the Department of Environment.

He then quit in the summer of 2002 for personal reasons.

Prior to becoming a deputy minister, Cameron had been a civil servant with both the Yukon government and the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

Although Duncan announced last September her decision to call for a leadership election, the party has yet to set a date. Late last year, officials said the date would probably be set early in 2005, with a vote taking place in the spring.

Duncan said she called for the vote because the leader needs a mandate from the party heading into the next election.

Last October, Duncan announced her plans to seek re-election. She is the only Liberal in the legislature.

The only other candidate to enter the race officially is Elvis Presley, the Ross River-based headstone maker and musician.