North Shore News - May 9th 2010

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feature Kids Biz Page 21

Sunday, May 9, 2010

56 pages

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New special prosecutor for Kash Heed James Weldon

jweldon@nsnews.com

A new special prosecutor has been appointed to look into the alleged Election Act violations related to the election campaign of former solicitor general and one-time West Vancouver police chief Kash Heed, the provincial government announced Friday.

The first special prosecutor assigned to the case, Terrence Robertson, resigned earlier this week after it was revealed that his law firm had made a $1,000 donation to Heed’s campaign and he had made a personal donation, putting him in an apparent conflict of interest. Senior Vancouver lawyer Peter Wilson will be taking Robertson’s place. Wilson will conduct a new independent review of the police investigators’ report to Crown counsel and of Robertson’s decisions in relation to the case. He has the power to approve any charges he deems appropriate, including, potentially, against Heed. Heed resigned from his cabinet post April 10 when it came to light he was under investigation by the RCMP with regard to illegal campaign pamphlets that had been distributed to certain voters in his Vancouver-Fraserview riding during his 2009 run for office. After looking into the case, Robertson approved charges against Heed’s campaign manager and another aide, but cleared the solicitor general of any wrongdoing. Heed was reappointed on Tuesday, but then resigned again a day later when Robertson revealed his firm’s apparent conflict. Heed resigned as head of the WVPD to enter politics in February last year, after less than 19 months on the job.

Saying it with flowers

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

ALAN Jambulatov (left), Jack Goodenough, artist and mom Mila Chanel, son Ridge Sieb, Grace Pitre and Charlotte Ticehurst-Wong display the knife oil paintings they and other Larson elementary students created for their Mother’s Day painting project.

Election spending raises questions Jane Seyd

jseyd@nsnews.com

IN 2008’s municipal election campaigns on the North Shore, the main players in the race for local office spent more than $327,000 on their bids for political office. Of the three election campaigns, spending in affluent West Vancouver was highest, where candidates collectively spent almost $145,000 in their bids for seats at district hall, including more than $48,000 spent by Pamela Goldsmith-Jones on the hotly

Council watchers would like to see donations, spending capped

contested mayor’s position. Election spending in the City of North Vancouver, where Mayor Darrell Mussatto was acclaimed, wasn’t far behind, with candidates shelling out more than $125,000 on campaigns. While spending in North Shore campaigns is still a far cry from the more than $5 million spent by candidates in the Vancouver civic election, some people are questioning how much it currently

costs to run for local election — and who ends up funding those campaigns. Unlike in provincial and federal elections, there is currently no limit on the amount of money candidates can spend during local election campaigns or on the amount that corporations, unions or individuals can donate. David Marley and John Jensen, civic activists and council watchers in West Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver respectively, are among those who’d like to see that changed. While neither man feels spending in North Shore elections has See Mussatto page 5


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