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Dermod Travis, executive director of the political watchdog group IntegrityBC, said these demands underscore that big donors to the B.C. Liberal party are trying to exert an incredible amount of clout over B.C. government policy and personnel decisions.

“Everything in the letter speaks to me they are mad because the (registrar) is doing too good a job for consumers,” said Travis. “Currently, based on what I can see, (the new car dealers) have been successful at achieving their ends.”

In an interview, Smith said Tuesday he had decided himself to retire in 2012.

Although he had never seen the letter, he had heard about it (he read a copy Tuesday provided by Postmedia News), and believed the B.C. government had not reacted to it.

Following Smith’s departure, there appears to have been a significant dip in registrar decisions on issues including sales and dealership licences, disputes and administrative penalties, according to a Postmedia News review of decisions listed on the vehicle sales authority website.

Between 2005 and 2009, the registrar issued about 190 decisions, while between 2012 and 2016, there were less than 50 decisions.

Smith said he could not comment on the change.

In an email, vehicle safety authority spokesman Doug Longhurst declined to discuss Smith’s departure and pointed to governance policies posted on the agency’s website.

B.C. solicitor general Mike Morris’ office said there was no one available for an interview Tuesday.