From a good Times Colonist editorial on the appointment of Craig James as clerk of the legislature.
"Our political system includes measures designed to keep a check on potential abuses by the party in power. A key principle is that some positions must be seen to be entirely non-partisan.
"Once again, the Liberal government has violated that principle.
"This week, the government imposed its candidate for clerk of the legislature, a lifetime appointment. The quaint title doesn't reflect the position's importance. The clerk, through advice to the Speaker, interprets the rules of the legislature for MLAs from all parties."
Read the rest here.
For background, here's the column I did on the same issue when James was appointed interim chief electoral officer by the Liberals - another post that's supposed to be made by all parties.
The clerk appointment highlights how wrong the Liberals were in putting James in the chief electoral officer role for 15 months. The officer is supposed to be completely independent and serves a fixed term of two elections plus one year.
But the inevitable perception is that James knew he was a candidate for the $250,000-a-year clerk job during his times as interim chief electoral officer. And that taints the public view of his true independence in making decisions on recall efforts, the HST initiatives and other issues.
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9 comments:
Arrogance is the only word that captures the essence of the Liberals after a decade in power.
Haven't seen any decade in power articles in the msm. Shame.
They will do what they know they can get away with. V.Palmer from the sun wrote about the misuse of power by Mz.Christy and friends
The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer also did a piece on this scummy appointment.
What galls me after reading them all is the lack of journalism exhibited.
Where is the BC Liberal's chance to impale themselves on their own petard?
Neither you PW, nor VP, nor the VC's anonymous coward thought to ask Government House Leader Rich Coleman: 'Why do the BC Liberals hate democracy?'
To paraphrase: The perception, in all cases, is that Postmedia cares too little for important journalistic principles.
Overlooked in all this: how much is MacMinn's retainer, and are the taxpayers still on the hook for his vehicle?
It is examples such as these that turn away the voters from the ballot box. Unfortunately, that's the way political parties seem to like it. They want their core, dependable voters to show up on election day and prefer those that may vote for someone else to just go away.
Christy Clark and the BC Liberals show nothing but contempt for the Legislature and the people in BC.
seriously, wthell clerk salary like that.. very very not understanding,
cheers,
laici
all about tips
It suddenly becomes very clear that this Liberal government has bought and rewarded another of their cohorts.
Makes one wonder about all the difficulty given by James regarding the HST. As I said, it all becomes very clear.
SHAME ON CLARK AND YET AGAIN ANOTHER LIBERAL BAND OF THIEVES.
And why, exactly, won't we have official Pt. Grey election by-election results until September?
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I would suggest that it is now incumbent upon the opposition to formally request that the new and appropriately appointed CEO, Mr. Archer, should immediately review ALL of the previous rulings (and firings), made by the good Mr. James during the entire tenure of his most inappropriate appointment.
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