Ian Waddell, a former provincial NDP cabinet minster, is running for Vancouver Kingsway. He seems like a nice enough guy, but in the diverse array of offenses committed during the NDP’s rule of BC, Waddell’s last public gaffe is probably the one I found most atrocious:

After Lui Passaglia’s final home game for the BC Lions, fans and reporters remained in the stadium for a final ceremony to commemorate Passaglia’s achievements and service to the club. Ian Waddell was ushered out to midfield to award the all-time highest scoring kicker in all of football’s history on behalf of the province. What Waddell actually managed to do, however, was bugger the ceremony and make himself look like an out of touch buffoon as he began his speech by referring to the Lions’ kicker as “Lui Passagli-ole”

Pass-ag-li-ole?

At first, everyone one was somewhat confused: Who is this guy anyway, and why does he seem to have a speech impediment? But as Waddell went on it became clear that he didn’t have an accent but rather an overabundance of ignorance. An entire stadium full of people went from initial confusion to stunned silence, then finally irritable disgust as it became clear that Waddell had such little consideration for the plaudits he was awarding that he had not even bothered to get the recipient’s name straight: He really does seem convinced that his pronunciation is correct… How on earth could the the man this out of touch?

Pass-ag-li-ole.

People were stunned. Everyone can understand that politicians are likely too high-brow to be uber-sports fans, but this was a pretty major cock-up. At the very least, it’s not unreasonable to assume that a government official should atleast have a passing familiarity with a hall of fame figure like Passaglia, whose very name was and still is synonymous with the Lions.

It was a stunning achievement. Waddell managed to butcher one of the province’s few notable moments of sports history and, in doing so, managed to dramatically convey a sense of his government’s hubris and disconnection from the basic passions of its constituency. That night Ian Waddell was the only person in BC Place Stadium who didn’t have a clue as to how out of touch he and his government were with people they governed.

Lui Passaglia was Lui Passagliole for one ceremony, but Ian Waddell will always be the man I remember as the politician who unwittingly turned a photo-op into a microcosmic display of his government’s inability to even desire to understand the public.