Former Canucks owner to seek BC Liberal nomination
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 | 1:49 PM PT
CBC News
Former Vancouver Canucks owner Arthur Griffiths announces his plans to seek the nomination of the BC Liberals in the next provincial election. (CBC)Vancouver businessman Arthur Griffiths confirmed Tuesday morning that he intends to seek the BC Liberal nomination in the new riding of Vancouver-West End in the next provincial election.
"There's issues around homelessness, mental health, affordable housing and of course safety for seniors in this community," said Griffiths, outlining some of the more obvious issues facing the high-profile downtown riding.
The son of legendary Vancouver businessman Frank Griffiths said he doesn't have an answer for those problems yet, but will soon know more about them after he moves his family from Point Grey to the West End riding.
The area is in the riding held by Liberal MLA Lorne Mayencourt, who previously announced he was not planning on running again for the party, and who was on hand to lend his support to Griffith at the announcement.
Hopes to capitalize on sports career
Vance Campbell, the Liberals' West End riding association president, attended to make it clear Griffiths was the party's preferred candidate.
"We know you are in it to win it, and we're going to help you do that," said Campbell.
Griffiths was a major player in Vancouver's sports scene, and now apparently hopes to capitalize on that notoriety to launch his political career.
"Most of my experiences have been bringing teams together to accomplish some impressive projects, I think," Griffiths told CBC News on the weekend.
His father, Frank Griffiths, bought the Vancouver Canucks in 1974, and Arthur Griffiths later took control of the team and built their new home, the GM Place arena.
In 1995, Arthur Griffiths brought the NBA to town with the Vancouver Grizzlies, which also played in the new arena.
Griffiths was also the first chair of the committee that eventually brought the 2010 Olympics to Vancouver.
But Griffiths's sports record has had several significant failures.
He eventually lost control of the Canucks to John McCaw, a Seattle billionaire and minority owner, who eventually squeezed Griffiths out in 1997 when he ran into financial troubles.
By the time Griffiths sold the troubled Grizzlies franchise in 2000, it was among the worst teams in the NBA and losing millions of dollars a year. The team's new owner moved it the next year to Memphis.
Since then, Griffiths has had a varied career. He hosted a sports show on a local radio station and worked as an advertising representative at another station before more recently signing on and then off as CEO with an internet broadcasting startup.
Experts questions sports-notoriety strategy
Norman Ruff, a political science professor at the University of Victoria, told CBC News that Griffiths's spotted record in professional sports and business might not help him politically.
"Whether that really qualifies you as an MLA is still a big question mark. And of course some would question just how successful he was as a businessman," said Ruff.
However the public views his track record, Ruff predicted Griffiths will have a tough fight for the new Vancouver-West End riding, which he expects will be competitive in the May 2009 election.
