Early life and career
McClelland was born and educated in Calgary,Alberta, [1] then moved to British Columbia as a driver for a furniture moving company. [3] In the 1960s he worked at various radio stations including CHWK Chilliwack,CJJC Langley,CHQT Edmonton and CHQM Vancouver;he subsequently returned to CJJC to serve as operations manager. [4] [5] He had also worked as publisher of the Fraser Valley News Herald and a monthly country and western music newspaper, [3] [6] and served as Langley alderman from 1969 to 1972. [1]
He was married twice,and was father to two children. [3]
Provincial politics
McClelland ran as a Social Credit (Socred) candidate in the 1972 provincial election,and was elected member of the Legislative Assembly for Langley, [7] : 314 serving as opposition health critic in the 30th Parliament. [1] With the Socreds losing power in that election,leader W. A. C. Bennett resigned in 1973,and McClelland joined the subsequent leadership race. [6] He finished in second place on the first ballot,losing to Bennett's son Bill. [8]
The Socreds returned to power in the 1975 election,and the re-elected McClelland was named to Bill Bennett's cabinet that December as Minister of Health. [7] : 324 [9] Following his re-election in 1979, [7] : 334 he was re-assigned as Minister of Energy,Mines and Petroleum Resources that November,then became Minister of Labour in August 1982. [9] He earned the nickname "Broadway Bob" from his opponents after a controversy arose in 1982 about a taxpayer-funded visit to New York City in 1980;the trip included tickets to a burlesque Broadway musical and costs for keeping a limousine on standby for ten hours at Plaza Hotel. [10]
McClelland was re-elected in 1983, [7] : 342 and in February 1985 became Minister of Industry and Small Business Development. [9] The night before taking on his new cabinet role,he phoned and paid $130 to Top Hat Productions,a Victoria escort service that was under surveillance by police. [3] [11] In November 1985,McClelland was called by the defence to testify in the criminal trial of Top Hat's operator,Arlie Blakely,who faced 19 counts of offences related to prostitution. McClelland testified that he had drunk too much alcohol that night to retain memory of everything that happened. [3] [12] The matter became known as the "Top Hat Affair".
McClelland remained in cabinet until his resignation in August 1986,one week after Bill Vander Zalm took over as premier; [13] he did not contest that October's election. [11]
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