4 - Friday, October 25, 1991 —- North Shore News

The Reynolds wrap-up: tomorrow has arrived

A DAY or two before last
week’s provincial election i
saw Social Credit candidate
John Reynolds on Marine
Drive near Taylor Way,
walking in the general di-
rection of Lions Gate
Bridge.

No, Sonn, don’t! Life is
precious, think of the good
things! Don’t throw yourself off
that bridge! There’s always
tomorrow!

So I thought. I considered
stopping my car and rushing over
and throwing my arms around
him to save him from himself.

Well, of course I’m just funn-
ing. John Reynolds is probably
the least likely candidate for
suicide in West Vancouver. And
no one has to remind Reynolds
that there’s always tomorrow.

His tomorrow has arrived.

Talking to him on Tuesday, six
days after the debacle that swept
him out of his red-leather chair as
member of the legislature for
West Vancouver-Howe Sound —
and that vacuumed Social Credit
out of the entire North Shore — I
found him sounding like a kid on
the last day of school.

Defeat, as candidate for the
re-drawn riding of West Van-
couver-Capilano, didn’t dismay
him. it exhilarated him.

Least of ali, it didn’t surprise
him.

Politicians learn to put a good
face on their reverses. But
Reync'ds’ enthusiasm for life after
the legislature didn’t seem faked.

“When I first wen to Ottawa
asan MP in 1972," Reynolds |

recalled, ‘‘] got in touch with
William Hamilton’? —
postmaster-general in the John
Diefenbaker government and later
head of B.C.’s business council —
“to ask for advice on how to do
the job. He was a family friend —
actually, through my sister.

“He told me: ‘The greatest
favor your voters will ever do for
you is to defeat you,”’’ Reynolds
grinned.

Maybe only a politician, or
those close enough to observe the
breed, can appreciate such sar-
donic humor.

In the case of the en-
trepreneurial and tough-sided
Reynolds, political defeat really
does seem to be just a door to
another opportunity.

Reynolds — unlike some other
MLAs — says he’s well fixed fi-
nancially, though “I’m not rich”’
— an impression attributable to
his Howe Street business interests.

He’s always been regarded as
one of the mos: astute Socreds, in
both his public and private af-
fairs.

How astute? This astute:

“I sold my house 10 days be-
fore the clection. I'm leasing a
house — with pool, everything —
for $2,000 a month. That’s half of
the return {’m getting on the in-
terest from the sale of my house.
...1’m going to try to live half the
year here, half in Arizona.”’

With the fine eye of a
businessman for 2 dollar, he said
that the same Lincoln he leases
here for more than $1,000 a
month costs $480 in Arizona —
where his mother lives.

: And as for his political smarts:
“I knew in July that we'd be

Trevor
Lautens

GARDEN OF BIASES

beaten.’’ That’s when Rita
Johnston was chosen party leader
over Grace McCarthy.

Mrs. Johnston would never be
able to shake off the implications
of her close connections with

former premier Bill Vander Zaim.

Mrs. McCarthy had. Simple as
that.
His lack of surprise at the par-

We \ b by
. &.

0 FI

ty’s defeat isn’t just wisdom after
the fact. The Vancouver Sun’s
superb political columnist,
Vaughn Palmer, learned that a
few days before the election
Reynolds had privately said that
his own polls had teld him he
would win — but he didn’t believe
them. Reynolds confirmed that in
his conversation with me.

Why then had he run at all?

“I went through the motions
because too many were quitting,”’
said Reynolds, meaning the
massive defections of Socred
MLAs including cabinet members.

He doesn’t stand in criticism of
any of his colieagues, including
Premier Johnston: “They’ re all
friends.”

Nor does he have any com-
plaints about media coverage —
though he once took legal action
against the CBC for insinuations
about him on a television program
— or about any of the bad breaks
that befall political leaders: ‘I’m
not a whiner,’’ and he put Grace
McCarthy, the party’s once and
(faintly) future hope in that cate-
gory too.

He doesn’t expect her to try to
revive the party, and he’s equally
flat-footed about the future for
Social Credit: ‘‘Unless (Liberal

leader) Gordon Wilson totally
bombs, I think the party’s dead.”

Reynolds was Speaker of the
house, and, notwithstanding some
trepidation that he'd be too par-
tisan, a good one.

And also a cabinet member who
-— again to the surprise of many
who thought he was too much the
hard-headed businessman for the
job — made a principled resigna-
tion as environment minister when
his demanding standards were
undercut by Vander Zaim.

He was also, as many West
Vancouverites could attest, an
outstanding constituency man.

But his eye is on toinorrow and,
after a lifetime of salesmanship
and career shifts, he’s got that
restlessness to do something new: .
“Eight years in provincial politics
is the longest thing I’ve ever
done.” .

Any chance he’d return to poli-
tics?

“I doubt it,’’ said Reynolds,
adding the keep-the-door-open
words, “sight now.’*

You won’t catch me making
any predictions about his future
— after my disastrous forecast of
the election results. Anyone want
a used crystal bail, slightly crack-

s a

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