In the face of a mounting political storm, the man who initially approached former Liberal David Emerson about switching to the Conservatives thinks he should stay the course.
Former Conservative MP John Reynolds, who represented voters in the West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country riding for nine years, said the last thing Emerson should do is resign and run in a by-election.
"There have been many precedents for what has happened," Reynolds said Monday afternoon from Denver where he was spending a few days celebrating family birthdays. "I didn't see the Liberals demanding this big protest when Belinda Stronach joined them or Scott Bryson or the other two or three that went."
Reynolds defended Emerson, saying he switched parties on a matter of principle. "He made his mind up that it was better for the province and better for the country if he did what he did," said Reynolds. "He's got the support of the premier of our province and leading business people across the province. I am very happy he's there."
Reynolds, who has now retired from politics but was the co-chairman of the Conservatives' national campaign for the Jan. 23 election, made the original approach to Emerson.
"I went to him and talked to him about what I thought was a positive move for him and the province of British Columbia," said Reynolds. "He's a very important business person in our province. He's done a great job in the past in business and I felt that his talents would be better used being part of the government."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Emerson Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver - Whistler Olympics. Reynolds said people in Vancouver - Kingsway, where Emerson ran as a Liberal candidate, have something better than what they voted for.
"Instead of having someone in opposition, they have someone who is a cabinet minister of a new government. In the long term, they are better off," added Reynolds.
Angry voters rallied three days in a row last weekend in Emerson's riding, demanding that he resign.
Former New Democratic Party (NDP) provincial cabinet minister and MLA for Powell River - Sunshine Coast Gordon Wilson said most people will believe Emerson's motives were self-serving, whether they were or not.
"He simply came out of a very high paying corporate CEO position and went into a high paying cabinet position with the Liberals and didn't want to sit in a seat where he would earn less money and have less influence in opposition," Wilson said.
There was no comparison between Emerson's switch and Wilson's own move from the Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA), a party he started and led, to the New Democrats, Wilson pointed out.
"I took a political party and merged it with the NDP," said Wilson, who became an NDP cabinet minister after the move.
"Our local NDP executive became blended with people who had previously been on the PDA executive. It wasn't like I just moved myself. I moved an entire party, with the exception of a handful of people who wouldn't come and then were upset. The balance of the party actually came with me and joined riding associations all over the province. And the party was retired. David Emerson hasn't exactly retired the Liberal party."
