Embattled former B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed is admitting that he overspent during his 2009 campaign, but elections officials will allow him to keep his seat in the legislature.
A lawyer for Elections BC told a B.C. Supreme Court hearing in Kelowna on Tuesday that the rookie MLA should not lose his Vancouver-Fraserview seat for exceeding by $5,000 the $70,000 campaign spending limit set out in the Elections Act.
It remains to be seen whether Heed will have to pay the penalty set out in the act for such a violation -- a $10,000 fine.
Heed resigned from his position as solicitor general in April 2010 in the wake of a special prosecutor's investigation into illegal pamphlets distributed during his 2009 campaign.
He has since been cleared of all criminal and Election Act breaches in connection with the investigation, although his campaign manager and the owner of the printing company that distributed the flyers have both been charged.
With files from The Canadian Press
