John Les, the former solicitor-general, remains the subject of an ongoing police investigation into land deals in this community, but that did not stop Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell from personally endorsing Mr. Les's bid for another term in the legislature.
Mr. Campbell said he never had any doubts about making the trip to proclaim Mr. Les' qualities in a rally where he also saluted Barry Penner, the environment minister running in Chilliwack-Hope.
"One of the things that's really important is that he [Mr. Les] has served his community well," Mr. Campbell told reporters before a rally where he stumped for the two candidates. Mr. Les won Chilliwack-Sumas by 5,000 votes in 2005, but is now running in the newly created Chilliwack riding.
Mr. Campbell said the former solicitor-general sought public input on whether to run through an open letter to the community.
"It's their choice whether they elect him as MLA or not. They know the circumstances under which he's running. He's provided public service for literally decades in this community, and we'll see how they feel in Chilliwack," he said.
Mr. Les resigned last year after disclosures that a special prosecutor had been appointed to oversee an RCMP investigation into any possibility that Mr. Les benefited improperly from commercial transactions while he was mayor of Chilliwack between 1987 and 1999.
He said he was grateful for Mr. Campbell's support. "He has an appreciation of how tough it has been, frankly, for me," he said.
Mr. Les has denied any wrongdoing, but conceded the past few months have been tough.
"It's never fun when you have your integrity questions and it's not fun for my family to have this investigation hanging around," he said.
"It's been 13 months since I became aware of it, and you wake up at night and think about it. I'd like to have it over, but at the same time, I understand the special prosecutor needs time. It's not for me to determine these things, so I am just carrying on waiting for the results," he said.
CTV TV yesterday reported the investigation had taken on a wider scope. Mr. Les said he was not aware of that development, but that it was irrelevant because he is confident of his innocence. "It doesn't matter," he said.
His key political rival, Mason Goulden of the NDP, disagreed with Mr. Les's assertion that voters are not raising the issue. The third-year political science student at University of the Fraser Valley said voters he has met with are always talking about the situation.
"You can't have a MLA who has been under investigation for a year and hasn't been refuted of the charges," said Mr. Goulden, 20.
The former solicitor-general said he is not taking anything for granted. "The best way to insult the voters is to take it for granted. I am not about to do that."
While on the campaign trail, Mr. Campbell criticized NDP Leader Carole James for being evasive with voters by not disclosing that one of the party's candidates was under investigation by the RCMP and a special prosecutor.
"I am surprised she hasn't been straightforward about it," Mr. Campbell said.
The NDP leader disclosed this week that she knew that Doug Routley, the party's candidate in Nanaimo-Cowichan, was under investigation over allegations of assault and uttering public threats, but decided not to mention it in public. Ultimately, no charges were laid as a result of the probe, which began in December, 2008.
The Criminal Justice Branch issued a press release yesterday confirming the review. Ms. James said it arose from a domestic situation.
"I think it's pretty clear she has a pretty hefty double-standard," Mr. Campbell said. "One for herself and her supporters and one for everyone else."
John van Dongen resigned as solicitor-general this week over an accumulation of speeding tickets. The opposition has questioned Mr. Campbell's credibility, asking when he knew about Mr. van Dongen's troubles and why he didn't fire him.
The Liberal leader appeared today to relish turning the tables on his NDP rival.
"It's the same person who said I should have actually disclosed something I didn't know about," he quipped.
Ms. James said late last night that calling it a double standard was ridiculous because Mr. Routley was an opposition MLA going through a private matter and Mr. van Dongen was a member of cabinet.
