Christy Clark set to join long list of colourful B.C. premiers

A former B.C. Liberal education minister, Christy Clark, narrowly defeated Kevin Falcon to win the B.C. Liberal leadership.

On the third count, Clark scored 4,420 points compared to 4,080 for Falcon.

Clark won despite only having the support of one member of caucus, Burnaby-Lougheed MLA Harry Bloy.

It's an inauspicious start, but that has never held back new party leaders in the past.

After becoming the federal Liberal leader, Jean Chretien got off to a slow start and was pilloried in the media. That didn't prevent him from winning three majority governments.

When Bill Bennett took over the Social Credit leadership, he was ridiculed for inheriting the position from his father, long-serving former premier W.A.C. Bennett.

With her quick wit, sense of humour, and questionable grasp of some issues, Clark's premiership should provide a fair amount of entertainment for the media, if not for the Opposition.

Clark joins a long list of colourful premiers dating back to just after the province joined Canada in 1871.

The first premier, lawyer John Foster McCreight, lasted just over a year before losing a confidence vote.

His successor, Amor de Cosmos, served as premier and as an MP simultaneously. He was born as Bill Smith, but changed his name to reflect his love of the universe. He was also a former gold miner, newspaper owner, and critic of B.C.'s aboriginal population, referring to them as moral pests who should be forced to remain in their villages.

Another eccentric who made it into the premier's office was Fighting Joe Martin, who was elected in 1900.

"The comparisons with De Cosmos are striking," wrote author Peter Murray in his book From Amor to Zalm: A Primer on B.C. Politics and its Wacky Premiers (Orca Book Publishers, 1989)."One writer summed Martin up as 'brilliant and erratic, of indomintable courage but disastrous judgement,' a characterization applicable to both men. Both were also noted for the malevolence of the steely glare they fixed on opponents."

In the post-Second World War era, B.C. has had four occasionally zany premiers: Bennett senior, Dave Barrett, Bill Vander Zalm, and Glen Clark.

Bennett ignored the rules of the legislature and was famous for ramming through legislation. One of his cabinet ministers was jailed for taking bribes, but Bennett lasted 20 years in power thanks to a buoyant economy and his efforts to build the province's road, ferry, and power systems.

In his initial act of power, Barrett, B.C.'s first NDP premier, made it illegal to charge people to use the bathroom in the province. Famous for giving hilarious, stemwinding speeches on the campaign trail and in the legislature, Barrett also created the Agricultural Land Reserve and ICBC.

Vander Zalm's rule ran into trouble early on when he suggested not covering abortions under the provincial medical plan. Clark's downfall came after he spent $460 million on three fast ferries that didn't work properly, and then followed that up by granting a casino licence to a guy who was repairing his deck.