The Legislature Raids

On January 12, 2003, a press conference was held in the Vancouver Cabinet Office complex at Canada Place in Vancouver.

Almost everyone was there since the premier had just come back from Maui after the bust, his arrest, and a night lying drunk on the floor of a Maui jail, and the story was lede everywhere. It was BC's "stand by your man" adventure for Nancy Campbell, too.

But for most of us, that press conference was expected to provide British Columbia journalists with enough facts to report on how the Premier would explain his fall from grace.

While in Opposition, Campbell had been a relentless Calvinist, ruthless in his hellfire condemnation of those failing his moral standards, so some of us expected Gordo to resign, the way he insisted so forcefully that others resign -- such as Glen Clark, Gordon Wilson, Mike Harcourt.

All of us, I venture to say, expected that the guy identified as "Premier 03-02659" by Maui police would provide answers to real questions, and would be thoroughly  grilled by impatient journalists.

I'll let you be the judge of that. 

The first question came at 11:30 a.m., but very few people outside that room have ever heard it until now:

From a respected senior journalist: Mr Premier, was Lara with you in the car at the time of the arrest?

The answer was silence.

Mrs Nancy Campbell, an understandably angry woman that day (although we didn't know the whole story then) turned a very dirty look toward the reporter who had asked that question. And this is where to  pay special attention:

Other reporters -- and let us be clear: the  CanWest reporters -- jump in with deflection questions.

Serious attention is called for here:  Noon news: the video clip is shown with question and reaction.

6:00 PM all networks, all references to question and reactions deleted.

In fact, my reliable source tells me that one well-known radio personality promises to f*** over anyone who dares to report on it.

CBC is threatened with legal action.

This should answer any lingering questions about why CanWest newspapers pick and choose which news will be considered "news".

And so Gordo, the guy in charge of protecting British Columbians from drunk drivers, had been thrown into a drunk tank with 6 other drunks; he spent the night of Jan. 10, 2003 there after blowing 0.161% blood alcohol level in the field test, and 0.149% when tested later at Wailuku Police Station. That's almost twice the official legal limit of .08%.

The BC premier was undeniably guilty of putting the public at risk on that Hawaiian highway at 1:00 a.m. on Jan. 9, 2003. But after grinning "mockingly into the lens of a Maui police camera", Gordo came home and begged for forgiveness, like a teen-ager who has made a slight error.

But it was no slight error. 

After this middle-aged man had paid the (US)$275 Bail, he had also paid $500. for the petty misdemeanour of driving under the influence of alcohol, paid $50. for failure to drive on the right side of the road, $50. fine for disregarding lane markings, and $125 fine for speeding (70 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone) for a total of (US)$1,000.  He did not contest the charges.  Then, a few days later, he came home to the unhealthy Golden Era climate he himself had created in B.C. to be forgiven, protected and allowed to continue on his way.

No teen-ager, he was 55 years of age. Watch him here, in full flight, talking  about his duty to protect the public interest.

So after the Maui arrest, certain journalists staked out Vancouver International Airport to watch for Lara to return. But Lara came back by an indirect route some days later, from Hawaii to Phoenix, then a car trip across the Canada-US border at Blaine, Wash.

Rewards are distributed. Not long afterward, the Campbell home in Pt Grey went up for sale.

It's fair to ask, even at this late date: Mr Premier, was Lara with you in the SUV at the time of your arrest?  In fact, was  Lara Dauphinee driving the SUV that night ... and is it true that there was a scramble to switch drivers just before Hawaiian police stopped the vehicle, and then the premier of British Columbia fell out on the ground?

By any chance, is it possible that Lara, the premier's Deputy Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant, was also arrested that night for failing the breathalizer test?

Her employers would like to know.

This is Part 1 of 4 parts.