From the moment Michael Bryant’s appointment as Downtown Eastside ‘czar’ became public, it seemed clear the BC NDP government had made a mistake.

It wasn’t so much the secrecy of Bryant’s contract — though it did not help matters that Global News reported on May 12 that he’d already been on the job for three months without the public knowing.

It was everything else surrounding his role: An obscene salary juxtaposed against studying the province’s poorest neighbourhood, a vague mandate, hidden reports, a lack of allies, frustrated major partners, the whiff of controversy from his last job, a refusal to speak publicly and poor political timing, just to name a few.

Most of those are the NDP government’s fault, in crafting an untenable appointment for Bryant that dissolved into ash the moment it was exposed to the sunlight of public scrutiny.

It didn’t help that Bryant’s only backup was an incoherent defence from an embarrassing minister, in Sheila Malcolmson, who left him exposed to an unrelenting series of body blows from the Opposition until the premier threw in the towel.

That occurred Tuesday, when Premier David Eby emerged to say the controversy over Bryant had overshadowed the work. Government terminated the contract three months into a six-month term.

“Clearly it didn’t work out the way that I intended,” said Eby. “So we have to go in a different direction.”

The intention appeared to be to hire an outside legal........

© BIV