SULLIVAN WONDERS ABOUT CHIEF'S TIMING

Mayor-elect Sam Sullivan says retiring Mayor Larry Campbell is the
inspiration behind an RCMP probe of his well-publicized admissions
that he supplied money to drug addicts more than three years ago.

Sullivan said Campbell has admitted in the media that he wrote a
letter several weeks ago to B.C. Solicitor-General John Les over
concerns related to Sullivan supplying money to a drug addict and
addicted prostitute.

The letter was sent during the municipal election campaign in which
Campbell endorsed Sullivan's opponent, Jim Green of Vision Vancouver.
Sullivan was elected Nov. 19.

"He was out speaking to the public about how awful I was and how
useless I was as a councillor and how wonderful Jim Green was,"
Sullivan told the Courier yesterday morning. "At the same time, he
was writing a letter asking for a criminal investigation against me.
I think this was an unfortunate use of his office as chair of the
police board."

The Courier left messages with Campbell's office and executive
assistant yesterday, but they were not returned before deadline.
Campbell's last council meeting was yesterday.

When Sullivan is sworn in as mayor Dec. 5, he will automatically
assume the position as chair of the Vancouver Police Board.

In an Oct. 5 story in the Courier, Sullivan admitted he gave money to
three drug addicts to buy drugs to help them "manage" their
addictions. The recipients of Sullivan's money were a crack addict in
his 30s living in the Downtown Eastside, a young heroin-addicted
prostitute working in Collingwood and a close friend of the Sullivan family.

Sullivan pointed out yesterday that two of the three incidents were
previously reported in the media, including a front page story in the
Vancouver Sun in December 2000.

Because the incidents occurred several years ago, and were widely
publicized, Sullivan is wondering why police didn't investigate then.

"It was on the front page of the Vancouver Sun at a time when both
Larry and the police chief were in town," he said, adding that Jamie
Graham wasn't chief at the time but believed he was aware of the
story. "I don't fault the police chief. The police chief surely has
to respond to the hysteria of the chair of the police board, if
that's what's happening."

Police Chief Jamie Graham asked the RCMP to investigate Sullivan
after he consulted with the Office of the Conflict of Interest
Commissioner, said Const. Howard Chow, VPD media liaison officer.

Graham pursued the matter after stories regarding Sullivan's
involvement with drug addicts surfaced in the media during the 2005
election campaign, Chow said.

"Given that the election was going on at the time, we chose not to
make any comment about it for fear of influencing the decision of
voters one way or the other," he said.

The conflict commissioner recommended Graham ask a separate police
agency-in this case, the RCMP-to review the department's concerns
over Sullivan's actions.

When asked why police didn't investigate Sullivan when stories
reported his actions several years ago, Chow said "the big
distinction here is that he would eventually be the head of the police board."

Added Chow: "It really came into our radar during this election.
Comments were made by a number of citizens, it was reported in the
media as well."

Chow said Campbell's letter to the Solicitor-General was independent
of the police chief's decision to ask the RCMP to investigate Sullivan.

Sullivan said he doesn't believe the issue will affect his
relationship with the chief. The RCMP probe comes one week after
Vision Vancouver asked for an inquiry into allegations that Sullivan
helped independent mayoral candidate James Green in his campaign.

"Larry Campbell's honeymoon lasted two-and-a-half years. Mine lasted
two-and-a-half days. And people said I would be a boring mayor."