RCMP AWAIT MAYOR'S WORD ON DRUG BUYS

Sullivan's Silence Holds Up Review Of Whether He's Fit To Chair Police Board

VANCOUVER -- Almost six months after he was asked to do so,
Vancouver's mayor has yet to tell police just what happened when he
gave money to addicts to buy illegal drugs, an RCMP spokesman said yesterday.

Until Mayor Sam Sullivan provides the Mounties with a written
statement, their months-old review cannot address questions about
whether he is fit to chair the Vancouver Police Board, Corporal Tom
Seaman said.

"We're waiting for a statement from the mayor and we haven't received
it yet," Cpl. Seaman said. "Is that [six-month time lapse] unusual?
The whole case is unusual."

In an interview, Mr. Sullivan said he has written drafts of a
statement, but because of his busy schedule has not had time to close
the book on what he called a personal matter.

"I think when you're the mayor, you're constantly engaged in the
business of the city. You don't have the luxury of worrying about my
personal issues."

When Mr. Sullivan was a city councillor, he gave money to a
prostitute to buy drugs about seven years ago. About a year later, he
gave a man money for crack cocaine and let him smoke it in his van.

When Mr. Sullivan began his run for mayor with the conservative
Non-Partisan Association in September, the addicts' stories surfaced
and he admitted the incidents.

They quickly became a campaign issue, and rival slate Vision
Vancouver alleged that Mr. Sullivan had committed a crime.

In November, police Chief Jamie Graham asked the RCMP to investigate
a possible conflict between Mr. Sullivan's actions and his future
role as chairman of the police board.

The police board is an organization of civilians that oversees the
Vancouver Police Department. By law, the mayor heads the board.

Shortly after Mr. Sullivan became mayor last November, the RCMP
acknowledged they were conducting the review, not yet defined as an
investigation.

That review could end if Mr. Sullivan gives the Mounties his version
of what happened and why, Cpl. Seaman said.

He added that Mr. Sullivan had promised a statement before February,
but has no legal obligation to say anything to police. The mayor
otherwise was co-operative and is not obstructing the investigation, he said.

"We're waiting for his statement. That would conclude this and we
could review the case."

Cpl. Seaman would not comment on whether the police had interviewed
either addict, or what would happen to the review if Mr. Sullivan did
not submit a statement.

Mr. Sullivan has long supported giving drugs to addicts to reduce the
harm to their health from getting their fixes in dangerous
circumstances and to stop the associated crime; studies support such
a policy, researchers say.

Lone Coalition of Progressive Electors councillor David Cadman said
he was not surprised that Mr. Sullivan had not submitted the statement.

"Sam tends to, when he gets in a tight spot, promise something and
hope it goes away," he said.

"I think it's an awkward position to be in, the mayor of the city and
chair of the police board, and you're not complying with the
standards you'd expect yourself to set."

Police board vice-chairman Peter Webster did not respond to a request
for an interview, and board staff directed all questions to the mayor.

Mr. Sullivan said he will make the review a higher priority.

"I guess I should have been more diligent in understanding the
expectations," he said.