Paul Reitsma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Reitsma is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada, for the electoral district of Parksville-Qualicum.

Reitsma was elected in the 1996 BC provincial election for the BC Liberals, defeating New Democratic Party of British Columbia incumbent Leonard Krog.

In early 1998, Reitsma was accused of writing letters to newspapers under assumed names, praising himself and attacking his political opponents. A Parksville newspaper had asked a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police handwriting expert to compare a sample of Reitsma's handwriting to that of letters to the editor submitted by a "Warren Betanko", and then ran a story entitled "MLA Reitsma is a liar and we can prove it".

Reitsma was ejected from the BC Liberal caucus although he chose to remain as a member of the BC Legislative Assembly. However, he resigned his legislative seat on June 23, 1998 when it appeared that a recall petition led by proponent Mark Allan Robinson had enough signatures from the electorate.

Some argue that the hilarious low-point of his career was in fact not "Betanko-gate", but rather when he demanded free food from a cafeteria on board of a B.C. Ferry traveling from Vancouver Island to the mainland. Passengers on board allege that Rietsma claimed "I'm not some Flibbity-Flabbity-Floo... I am an MLA and it seems entirely appropriate to provide me with a free meal aboard this ferry, which is the property of British Columbia, which I am partial ruler of".

^[1] ^[2] Reitsma was also the mayor of Port Alberni and Parksville prior to his move to provincial politics.