The best thing about democracy is also the worst thing about democracy.
Just ask Wally Oppal, whose job as attorney general of B.C. hangs on the results of a judicial recount. The latest tally has the distinguished former judge losing the Delta South riding to Independent Vicki Huntington by 32 votes.
So, just like that, the province’s top lawman could be gone. The premier will have to scramble to fill Oppal’s vacancy and whoever gets the file will have to deal with the radioactive issue of Bountiful.
Ah, Bountiful, that idyllic community near Creston, where “fundamentalist” Mormon Winston Blackmore roams, his (at least) 19 wives to keep him warm on those chilly mountain nights.
Until Oppal decided to do something about it, all the king’s men preferred to let Blackmore keep his harem rather than deal with the thorny legal, cultural and social issues he poses.
You might think the old goat should be in jail. But because Blackmore is a “religious leader” everyone looked the other way until Oppal, who was never short on courage, went against the advice of his staff, two independent judges and two special prosecutors and charged him with polygamy.
Blackmore’s lawyer is trying to get the charges on said goat dropped, or failing that, get taxpayers to pay his legal costs — without being required to make financial disclosures.
I doubt many of the good voters of Delta South spent five minutes thinking about Blackmore and his poor, deluded wives when they sent Oppal packing.
And you thought your vote didn’t count.
