And so he should resign...
I find it hard to beleive he knew nothing of the actions of his pre-election staff...
and now that the prosecuter that investigated him admitted his company donated to Heed's campaign, I really wonder about the validity of the special prosecutors findings...

This is getting really funny!! How many $ are being wasted on this?

Yup them there fiberals sure makin them there NDP look like a bunch of amateurs.

Whether he knew or did not know about the pamphlets is surely not the major point. The election he won was so close that there is a distinct likelihood that without the illegal and libelous pamphlet his opponent may well have won instead. If Heed truly is a man of honour, he should resign as an MLA and Campbell should immediately call a by-election. The people of that constituency can then elect their MLA knowing the true positions of both, and any other, parties.

just wait ,, the govt wil get more bizare and idiotic as we all have become too complacent,what a shame !! anyway its the minority that has the voice

Shades of the BC liberal BC Rail strategy going on here. They have conflicts of interest all over the place in the BC judicial system from political to the way the BCSC is handled in this province. This 'conflict of interest' revelations come as no surprise to me.

Same old same old political corruption from the BC liberals IMO.

So what do we have here... some unauthorized election pamphlets and somebody finding out that Heed's lawfirm donated to his campaign. Talk about a tempest in a teapot.

And of course, somebody has to be the scapegoat. Gotta love politics.

Aren't dirty politics fun though? It's all about getting elected at any cost.

This reflects poorly on Campbell. It's one thing for Heed to have had one election irregularity derail him. But Campbell ought to have insisted on a much more thorough examination of the overall election validity before welcoming him back. Oh that the Preem would fall on his sword now.

The BC Liberals are in total damage control ... HST / Educational underfunding / Surgery waits during the Olympics / Healthcare wait lists ...

The list goes on and on.

BC hasn't gotten any better under this government, so they aren't worth voting for.

This isn't an NDP plug.

I'd rather see Gordon Wilson and a real Liberal party arise from the ashes of this despot state

The problem, Mr. PG, is that the pamphlets, which were libelous and defamatory, violated the Elections Act because they did not indicate who paid for them or where they came from.

Heed won the riding by less than 750 votes. His campaign manager has been charged with violating election laws and with criminal obstruction charges after lying to RCMP investigators.

So, 'not' a tempest in a teapot. The people who get you elected are in many cases the voices behind the throne. Do you really think George Bush made all his own decisions? So, Heed innocent? Maybe, legally, but civilly? Not bloody likely. So morality would paint him black. But then again the liberals have never been known to 'do the right thing' - ie. John Les, has been involved in improper Agricultural Land Reserve transfers, Gordon Campbell charged, and convicted of DUI, Basi and Virk still with some stories to tell, and most likely we'll find out a lot more about the supposed 'Law and order' party. I'm neither a lib nor a con, but I really hate hypocrites.

"The problem, Mr. PG, is that the pamphlets, which were libelous and defamatory, violated the Elections Act because they did not indicate who paid for them or where they came from."

So what you're saying is that I have the power to get anybody in trouble during an election campaign. Just print some libelous material, say it's sponsored by the victim and distribute it. Great system.

"Gordon Campbell charged, and convicted of DUI"

Wrong. He plead 'no contest', was fined and apologized -- no criminal record. Again, not saying what he did was right, but let's get the facts straight.

"I'm neither a lib nor a con"

No, but probably some disgruntled NDP'er (like many on this site) still fighting the last election.

The special prosecutor who investigated the allegations, and found no wrongdoing, has now resigned after it was found that his law firm gave contributions to Heed's campaign.

So who on earth apponted this guy to investigate? Didn't they check to see if he was in conflict?????

IMO this second revelation has more far- reaching consequences than the pamphlet issue.

To refute your points;

You can try to do this.

However, the crown wouldn't have charged both his campaign manager and his printing house unless they had some compelling evidence. And his campaign manager lied to the RCMP when questioned.

The crown doesn't fish. They don't have time. And to charge they people they did means that thank god we have can have some trust in the legal system.

From http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100503/bc_barinder_sall_100503/20100503?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

Kash Heed's campaign manager Barinder Sall is facing three criminal charges -- including two counts of obstruction of justice -- and three charges under the Election Act.

Dinesh Khanna, whose printing company North American Mailing Service Ltd. produced the pamphlets, faces two criminal charges for obstruction of justice and three Election Act charges.

Satpal Johl, financial officer for the campaign, is also facing one count under the Election Act related to improperly recording campaign finances.

Now about Campbell, jurisdictional distinctions aside, he was found guilty or admitted guilt to being drunk, and driving. To his credit the boy screwed up and owned up (must have followed the script given by some PR agency), but he doesn't have have near the integrity Mike Harcourt showed when he resigned over the Bingogate issue.

Out and out lied about BC Rail --oops sorry 99 year lease (as slimy as distinction as ever was made) I won't even mention the current issues he faces with the HST turnaround (yes, it would have cost him the election and yes he was aware of massive funding shortfalls before the election so yes he chose to mislead the electorate. Either that or he's incompetent and didn't monitor his mandarins.

Like I stated before, I dislike hypocrites. He's going to leave a legacy worse then Glen Clark and might even approach Mulrony's.

All I want is a middle of the road party that believes in policies that give the greatest good to the greatest amount of people. The liberals haven't done that. I realize that workaholics like me need to have proper incentives to bust our butts. However, I 'REALLY HATE' cheaters. I'm smart enough and hard working enough that I have a good living, but to see politicians lie and sell out our province makes me angry.

About me.

I have owned my own business here in Prince George for the last 4 years, and grew up in a self-employed household. I have never held a union job.

You, and other liberals don't realize that I'm 'Joe the Plumber' who supported the liberals in the last election. I, and according to the polls, will not be voting for Gordon Campbell again. I predict a similar drubbing to the one given the NDP 9 years ago.

Unfortunately as the rich get ever richer I and many other middle class white males prefer incompetence over lies and sellouts.

Naive, but come-on - fight the good fight and let the cards fall where they may. Harcourt did that - and he has my respect.

And to your last point, sorry - no. Have voted both ways. Been disgusted both ways.

Need a third party but as above prefer incompetence to selling out.

Good post, apoliticalgeek. Wonder if the "Special Prosecutor", whose law firm's previous contibutions to the BC Liberal Party and the Kash Heed campaign have now placed him in a "conflict of interest" will be paid for the work he did?

I don't believe he should get a dime, since he should've realised before accepting the appointment the compromising position these political contributions had placed him in.

Heed did the honourable thing in stepping down as Solicitor-General, twice, but I think he should've gone one step further and resigned as MLA, too. A new election in that riding would be warranted under the circumstances.

I agree socredible...if Kash Heed was in fact an honorable man,he would resign as an MLA.
The next thing he would do is get as far away from the Campbell Liberals as possible and wait to fight another day.
He has to know this government will not survive.
And what of the Liberal backbenchers who live in the shadows and always will?
Are they content to do that?
They obviously have chosen to follow their leader into political oblivion,and for what?
For me,that in itself puts them all question.
Where is the integrity?
Maybe that is no longer a political requirement.

Andy:-"And what of the Liberal backbenchers who live in the shadows and always will?
Are they content to do that?"
-----------------------------------------
In their case I think it's like that recruiting slogan for the US Army, Andy:-

"Be all that you CAN be..."

Then again, with the salary and perks, etc. these people now get, maybe it's more like the slogan for ours:-

"There's no life like it....."

Kash Heed is in no way honorable.

An honorable man would know that the man charged with being an independent prosecutor was also a campaign donor.

An honorable man would have disclosed this himself and taken the high road asking for a truly independent prosecutor, because he truly felt he was innocent.

An honorable man would not have accepted his job back knowing full well one of his campaign donors just gave him a pass for the political theater of it all. (BTW the 'independent prosecutor' did us all a service clearing Kash Heed and giving Kash Heed the rope he needed to hang his hat on how truly disingenuous a man he really is... IMO).

You can not convince me that Kash Heed did not know who his campaign contributors were... and that the independent prosecutor investigating him was also a campaign contributor.

Accepting the job of Solicitor General knowing full well it was a snow job investigation that cleared him says a lot more about this politician than his original violation of the elections act ever could. Kash Heed has shown by his actions that he clearly can not be trusted, much less act in the capacity of our provincial Solicitor General.

This raises serious questions about the competence and honesty of the BC liberals for allowing Kash Heed to resume his position as our top prosecutor in this province. The liberals had to have known the conflict of interest.

The only somewhat honest one here is the 'special prosecutor' that stepped down... albeit after the fact.

Well said Eagleone.

It's quite possible that Heed didn't know who his campaign contributors were, Eagle. Many people donate money to various political Parties, ones they hope will provide better government for them if elected. For any individual candidate to know the name of every contributor, even those who are making $ 1,000 donations, would be unlikely.

But the "Special Prosecutor" did know, obviously, that his law firm had donated to the Kash Heed campaign, and also the BC Liberal Party (over $ 24,000 over several years, one news report said), and that he could be in a "conflict of interest" situtation if he accepted his appointment. If he didn't know that, than he can't be much of a lawyer, since, believe it or not, they are supposed to be governed by a code of ethics.

Now the question is, will the bill he's wrung up as a "Special Prosecutor" when he should have recused himself in the first place be paid by the long-suffering taxpayers, or not? I don't believe it should be. He should have known better than to take this appointment under the circumstances.

The news last night said that the special prosecutor himself donated $1000 personally to Kash Heed's campaign, in addition to that donated by the law firm.