Career
At one time, van Dongen was one of the longest serving British Columbia Liberal MLAs in the British Columbia Legislature. He was first elected in 1995 in a by-election and was re-elected in 1996, 2001, 2005, and 2009. On March 26, 2012, van Dongen announced he was leaving the British Columbia Liberal Party to sit as the only British Columbia Conservative Party Modern Language Association in the legislature.
He competed in the May 2013 election running as an independent and lost to Darryl Plecas.
On April 24, 2009, van Dongen announced that the British Columbia Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, a department for which he is responsible in the Legislature, had suspended his driver"s licence for a period of four months. In an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Company Radio van Dongen said the suspension was a result of his being cited twice in one year for driving in excess of 41 km/h above the posted speed limit.
Van Dongen featured prominently in anti-speeding advertising campaigns for the provincial government in recent years. Three days later, van Dongen resigned as Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor-General.
In 2010, he was appointed as the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee to Appoint a Chief Electoral Officer for British Columbia. On March 26, 2012, van Dongen crossed the floor of the Legislative Assembly to become the first British Columbia Conservative Party Member of the Legislative Assembly.
On September 22, 2012, he then announced he was resigning from the British Columbia Conservative Party to sit as an independent.
