(This column was published in the North Shore News on Jan. 15, 2003)
How many of us have driven home drunk?
By Leo Knight
WHEN Premier Gordon Campbell made the decision to drive his rented Honda on Maui after dining with former morning DJs Fred Latromouille and Cathy Baldazzi, little did he realize the storm of controversy he was about to unleash.
Had he known the result, he never would have gotten behind the wheel of that car. But then, the same might be said of almost every individual who gets the opportunity to get some face time with a police officer toting a roadside screening device.
Remorse is the ultimate result of hindsight.
It seems trite to say that the premier used poor judgement. But mastering the incredibly obvious is not enough to analyze this event.
From the get-go, as soon as that Maui police officer activated his roof-rack blue lights, this was destined to be the latest bizarre chapter in the politics of a province which seems to set the standard for the wacky and weird.
When news broke of the arrest midafternoon on Friday, it took about a nanosecond for the howls to begin for him to resign. Every radio talk show opened their lines for the recriminations to begin.
No doubt this is a big news story. Philip Till, CKNW radio host, was left trying to explain to listeners the machinations of a newsroom having to choose between the premier's arrest and the death of three workers in a bizarre accident on the New Westminster waterfront, in deciding what leads and what doesn't.
But the ultimate question raised is, should the premier resign? Now the self-serving hopes and desires of the BC Fed, BCGEU and the HEU aside, the question is legitimate.
As premier, he is and should be, held to a higher standard. So, I might add, are police officers and others in public office. I can think of a good number of police officers who made a mistake yet still serve the public at an exceptional level, having paid their price to that higher standard.
The premier himself alluded to that higher standard when, as opposition leader, he demanded a succession of NDP premiers stand aside as they were being investigated for a litany of problems ranging from Bingogate to Casinogate. Toss in a handful of cabinet ministers also found wanting on the ethical meter and the current premier set the bar high for himself and
his successors.
But the significant difference seemingly lost on the braying masses is that all the cases when Campbell demanded government ministers and premiers stand aside while under the cloud of an investigation occurred in direct relation to their duties and their office. In this case, the premier was on vacation and there is no ongoing investigation. It's already over and Premier Campbell has accepted the result and said he will not contest the charges against him.
The real question is: Has his ability to do his duty as premier of the province suffered as the result of his actions?
It is hard to see how that is possible. Now, bear in mind that this is a different question than: “Has he suffered politically?" and "Will this come back to haunt him?" The answers to those questions are a decided yes.
That mug shot released by Maui police will form an indelible image in the minds of all British Columbians and may, in the fullness of time, be Campbell's undoing.
In his press conference on Sunday, Campbell admitted to having three martinis followed by wine with dinner. This information was later corroborated in an interview with his hosts that evening, Latromouille and Baldazzi when interviewed in Maui for TV news.
The dinner at the former radio celebs vacation home lasted, by all accounts, more than six or seven hours.
Let me ask this question: how many of you have gone to friends' for dinner and had a couple or three cocktails and a couple of glasses of wine? All of you?
Well, how many have then driven home making the qualitative judgement that you were fine?
Most of you?
Yeah, well, me too. And probably everyone I know.
Does that make it right? Certainly not.
And the issue of drinking and driving is one which society must frown upon and treat with the utmost seriousness. And if this happened to me or thee after a dinner party, then we would deal with the situation, possibly take certain lifestyle actions after a period of introspection, pay our fine, serve our licence suspension and resolve not to re-offend.
But our politicians are rightly held to that illusive "higher standard." Campbell will have to deal with the sentence the court imposes much like you or I would. But, because of that higher standard, he has had to undergo the public dissection of the event and even had his family history dredged up for all to hear.
He has been forced to issue a public and emotional apology for something he did on his private time while on vacation. I would argue that the higher standard has already been met and he need not resign for this offence. He is, after all, only human.
Time will tell how much damage this transgression has done to his political career. There is every possibility the damage may be lethal. But that decision is best and rightly left to the voters. It should not be the purview of his political enemies. Not for this.
And remember, before you pronounce your own judgement, "There but for the grace of God . . ..”
-30-