Today, Gordon Campbell, the Premier of British Columbia, decided to do the right thing and announced formally that he was retiring from public office. Among other things, Mr. Campbell was remarkable for having the lowest ever poll scores for a democratically elected official in the Americas (and possibly Europe). In British Columbia, we may have referred to him as "Mr. 9% Popularity", but in the United States he is simply #03-02659.
03-02659 is the number on Gordon Campbell's police mug shot. That's the number the Premier picked up while he was on vacation in Hawai'i in 2003. He was arrested by the Maui 5-0, tried in court, and convicted of a drunk driving offense. Mercifully, nobody was injured or killed while Mr. Campbell was under the influence of alcohol.
At one point, Gordon Campbell's mug shot was placed on the front cover of a major comic book. The issue had to deal with a rogue's gallery of villains. Since the mug shot was in the public domain, the artist responsible for the cover felt free to use it. He had no idea that Gordon Campbell was a high-ranking Canadian politican. He used the photo because he felt that the convicted gentleman looked "evil" and "creepy".
To Mr. Campbell's credit, he did work hard to bring the Olympics to Vancouver in 2010. It might be 3010 before we finish paying for all the outstanding bills, but it was a terrific party. The world may then remember Premier Campbell as the white haired grinning man in the nice suit on TV who always wore red mittens everywhere he went. (The mittens were symbolic of the Olympic Games, and were a popular souvenir item in Canada.)
Posts
