The Vancouver Scrum

Campbell out?

Pierre Bourque is reporting that B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell may be about to announce his resignation in the wake of his drunk-driving arrest on Friday. This information, according to Bourque, comes from an "insider on condition of anonymity." This information is preliminary and has not been confirmed by other independent sources.

Campbell will hold a news conference at 3 pm PST tomorrow to discuss the incident and his future.

If Campbell does resign, his interim replacement would likely by Deputy Premier and education minister Christy Clark. Clark, a long-time Liberal activist and the MLA from Port Moody-Westwood since 1996, is known for being ambitious and politically savvy.

The subject of resignation is a controversial one. University of Victoria professor Norman Ruff, one of the leading authorities on British Columbia politics, has said that drunk driving is not, in his opinion, grounds for resignation. Ruff noted yeaterday that drinking and driving reflects on the premier's personal conduct, and not on his performance in office.

Former NDP official Bill Tieleman was not so charitable. "He should consider resigning. He's disgraced his office" Political historian Will McMartin, who was involved with the B.C. Social Credit and Progressive Conservative parties does not think that campbell needs to resign -- for now. "It's a very serious situation." McMartin notes that this could weaken Campbell's grip on the Liberal leadership, which could lead to party infighting.

"If there is someone in his caucus with leadership aspirations, he may be in long-term serious trouble "

Campbell's situation is complicated by the fact that while he was leader of the opposition, he laid out very strict standards for the conduct of ministers. Within months of being elected Liberal leader, he was arguing that NDP ministers under investigation for conflict of interest should resign as long as there is a "cloud of suspicion" over them. Campbell has no cloud of suspicion; he has admitted that he drove drunk and will not contest the charge against him. He then called on Premier Mike Harcourt to resign in 1995 over allegations that some NDP organizations were using charity bingo as a way to raise funds for the party. In 2001, Campbell suspended MLA Tony Bhullar after Bhullar was charged following a disturbance at Bhullar's parents' home.

Vaughn Palmer has more on Campbell's dilemma in his column in this morning's Vancouver Sun.

Here's how the press in Hawaii is reacting:

Honolulu Advertiser: Canadian official arrested on Maui for driving drunk
Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Canadian leader arrested on Maui for drunken driving

Here's a great photo of Campbell's Maui mug shots. Follow this link. Seriously. Two of the pictures show Campbell with what could only be called a shit-eating grin.