Elections BC says its case is closed on further campaign spending allegations against Liberal MLA Kash Heed, the former hand-picked star candidate who now spends much of his time in the legislature chamber reading magazines and avoiding debate.
Chief Electoral Officer Keith Archer said Thursday as far as his agency is concerned, the case against Heed is over.
He said Elections BC reviewed new allegations that up to $40,000 dollars were unaccounted from Heed's 2009 B.C. election campaign in his Vancouver-Fraserview riding, but found no new evidence to support the claims.
"There's no new information brought forward at this time," said Archer at a news conference.
"All of the elements of the allegations have already been considered by the RCMP and the special prosecutor that led to charges against two individuals," he said. "Consequently, there's no basis for carrying on a further investigation by this office. We now consider this matter closed."
Heed has always maintained he did nothing wrong and has said he left campaign financing to his team. At the core of the controversy were inflammatory campaign flyers that were eventually found to contravene campaign spending limits.
Leonard Krog, the NDP attorney general critic, and Vancouver resident Gabriel Yiu, the NDP's 2009 candidate in the Vancouver-Fraserview riding, each asked Elections BC to review again Heed's spending on his 2009 election campaign after the claims of the unaccounted $40,000 surfaced recently.
Heed's former campaign manager, Barinder Sall, had alleged the money was unaccounted for in Heed's election expenses. Sall made the claim days after he and campaign worker Dinesh Khanna pleaded guilty to breaking election laws during the campaign and were fined and placed on probation.
Last August, a B.C. Supreme Court judge fined Heed $11,000 for overspending on his 2009 campaign.
Judge Robert Bauman found Heed acted in good faith when it came to election expenses, but ordered him to pay what amounted to double the $5,778.90 his campaign overspent on the $70,000 limit.
"Regardless of Mr. Heed's inexperience in campaigning and his personal good faith in the conduct of his campaign, that campaign has apparently seen a serious breach of a critical provision in the Act," said Bauman in his written decision.
"Responsibility for the conduct of the campaign rests ultimately with the candidate," Bauman stated.
The election spending allegations saw Heed, a former B.C. solicitor general, twice step down from the cabinet of former premier Gordon Campbell to sit in the backbenches.
The investigations also revealed that Heed, who was never charged, was at one time under investigation by the RCMP for allegations of breach of trust.
Heed is a former West Vancouver Police chief and Vancouver Police Department officer. He has kept a low political profile for the past year, spending much of his time in the legislature appearing to read magazines rather than participating in debates.
He said Thursday he believes the election spending issues connected to his campaign have been fully and completely investigated.
"The matter has been thoroughly reviewed," he said. "It's been examined. This was one more step. It's time to go on."
When asked if he will run in the May 2013 B.C. election, Heed replied: "That's a decision I'll make in the near future."
Krog maintained despite Elections BC's dismissal of the affair, a political cloud still hangs over Heed.
"It doesn't get past the fact, however, that Mr. Heed sits in the House as a result of a tainted election," said Krog. "An election which saw overspending, a breach of the Election Act for which Mr. Heed has been fined."
Krog did not call for Heed to resign, saying Heed should decide his own future, but he said Heed and Premier Christy Clark should apologize for what occurred in Vancouver-Fraserview in 2009.
"Mr. Heed has to consider his own conscience," said Krog. "Mr. Heed will make his own decision."
