New Christy Clark biography saves its strongest critiques for her opponents

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A new book promises to be both a “fascinating political portrait and a penetrating critique” of Premier Christy Clark.

But does “Behind the Smile” live up to the hype? We spoke with its author, former Liberal MLA Judi Tyabji to find out.

What motivated you to write the book? In it you write, “I felt the portrayal of her as a heartless, arrogant, corporate sellout did not match the truth about her or the work she was doing on our behalf.” How did you find a balance?

“I think that because there were so many people who provided interviews, people who supported and also were opposed to the premier… I was able to weave those through. We also had very good comments from [reporters] Vaughn Palmer and Keith Baldrey from the Legislature, [so] I think, hopefully, what I’ve done is given people some depth and some context for the who Christy Clark is. I’ve known her since we were both about 18 years old and I know a lot of her decisions at that time and the way that she made them… that hasn’t changed. But, because she’s the premier of the province, a lot of people are ascribing, I think, motivations to her that really aren’t relevant and once you see them in context, I think that the perception changes.”

You mention how the two of you go way back. In many ways, reading this, it seems like a book that only you could write. Do you feel like you have a special insight or a special insight given that you and the premier go back to the `80s?

“I kind of feel like the Forrest Gump of BC politics because at the time a lot of events occurred that I happened to be sitting in a front row seat for, I had no idea how significant they would be later. I mean, certainly when we were teenagers, there was no indication that Christy Clark had the ambition to be leader of the province. She was just one of those people who worked harder than a lot of people and she was very effective and she was very friendly and then she became a Liberal researcher when we were all elected [in 1991] so I knew her that way and, again, [she was] very effective, very focused, very hardworking. And, of course, she and I were on different sides of the political divide in BC She was a critic and she was often attacking my husband [Gordon Wilson]… she was very effective at that as well. Of course, I wasn’t very happy about it. Then she was a radio talk show host and I was a guest. So, there’s just this, sort of, weaving in through things and I’ve been very lucky to have that perspective. That’s why I wanted to share it with people, because I have been able to see her in so many different iterations and, to that extent, that’s a unique perspective.”

There are some of conflicts in the book that you address head-on. The big one is how your husband, Gordon Wilson, endorsed Clark in the 2013 election, and then was handpicked by her to be her paid “Buy BC advocate for LNG.” Did you find it difficult to maintain your objectivity and do you think you succeeded in that?

“Well, I actually used Rafe Mair’s characterization of the appointment, which was the most negative one I could find. I wanted to show how extreme the comments were and then allow Gordon to make his comments. So, you have the polarization of BC politics. There’s another example of where it occurs, where you have someone, Rafe Mair, of course, well-respected for many years as a talk show host and a former Social Credit cabinet minister, really going after my husband’s integrity. And then you have Gordon Wilson saying, ‘My job is to try to make sure that British Columbians get the jobs when the investment occurs.’ So, quite a different perspective and it’s really up to the reader to decide how they want to perceive that.”

One thing that doesn’t come up is an issue raised by the Georgia Straight in their coverage of Behind the Smile. Charlie Smith points out that prior to your husband’s endorsement of the premier, there was a defamation suit against Wilson and Clark’s ex-husband Mark Marissen, and that your house was almost foreclosed upon. Why didn’t you include that?

“The defamation lawsuit that [freelance journalist] Bob Mackin has been using to try to attack my credibility is actually against me and an operative of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mark Marissen, the Province newspaper, the reporter, multimillionaire Bill Lougheed who was the father-in-law of Blair Wilson, no relation, the former Liberal MP That had nothing whatsoever to do with Christy Clark. It attacked our software start-up company, ended up creating an insolvency, and a personal financial crisis for us. I’m actually in court about that right now. So, I would say a year from now, people who have been using that to try to discredit me will be rushing to try to hide the articles they’ve written about that when the judge’s verdict comes out. The things that are before the courts, as well all know, we can’t talk about. I’m sure the courts will resolve them and I would be delighted to talk about them in detail when it’s resolved.”

You mention a sort of ugliness to BC politics and in the later chapters of the book you set the stage for the 2017 election. What is your prediction for the kind of tone and tenor we can expect?

“I think it will be the ugliest election that we’ve seen. The one thing that I find unfortunate, and this is another way where I feel like, to some extent, I felt compelled to write this book, is I’ve been a woman in politics, I’ve been a mother in politics, and I’ve been the kind of woman where people try to insinuate that there’s more going on, like that I use my feminine wiles for my advantage. And Premier Christy Clark, she’s not just a woman in politics, she’s a highly charismatic, very attractive, very effective woman in politics. And the misogynistic, sexist characterization of things that she does that are exactly the same as what male leaders have done in every other political party are quite horrifying. I think what we’re going to see in the next election is ramping up the misogyny and the sexism and she won’t be able to call it out for what it is. But some of the rest of us can and that’s dealt with in the book in a couple of chapters, quite academically and quite thoroughly. I believe that when the next election comes, we’re going to have to watch for that, we’re going to have to tell her opponents that’s not an acceptable way to try and win government.”

But one can criticize the premier without being labeled a misogynist, no?

“Absolutely. I think that is exactly what needs to happen. So, you want to talk about corporate donations, don’t say, ‘What are the donors getting for providing big money in intimate settings in a private house?’ Talk about what your suggestion is of what should happen otherwise, like, ‘Are you wanting the taxpayers to pay for political parties?’ Say that. If you’re going to go after corporate donations, go after across the field. Don’t target this premier in that highly sexual way. That is highly inappropriate. So, that’s what I mean. Go after her just like you would anyone else. Don’t use her gender against her. Don’t use her charisma against her.”

This is book number three for you, after “Political Affairs” and “Daggers Unsheathed.” Any plans for book number four?

“Actually, there was so much material, I couldn’t fit into book number three that there’s going to be a small book coming out in the spring [of 2017] that will have some other issues, some of the ones we just couldn’t deal with in this book. By we, I mean [publisher] Heritage House. Heritage House asked me if I would actually consider doing an additional small one, so yes, there will be a book number four.”

“Christy Clark: Behind the Smile” is available now.