A prominent member of the federal Liberal Party resigned Monday after coming under fire for comments on his blog about NDP Leader Jack Layton and his wife, party candidate Olivia Chow.

Mike Klander, a public affairs consultant in Toronto, was executive vice-president of the party's Ontario wing.

He stepped down from the volunteer position after it was revealed he had posted a picture of Chow on his personal blog alongside a picture of a chow chow dog, with the heading "Separated at birth."

Chow is the NDP candidate for the Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina in the Jan. 23 federal election. The blog, which has been taken offline, also contained nasty comments about Layton.

In an entry dated Nov. 23, Klander wrote: "I'm going away for a couple of days, so I thought I would find something smart and witty to put up on my blog before I left. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything, so I just want to say that I think Jack Layton is an a**hole … for no reason other than it makes me feel good to say it … and because he is."

Stephen Heckbert, a spokesperson for the Liberal campaign in Ontario, said Klander's blog was a personal one that did not reflect the view of the federal party.

He called the material "outside the bounds of good taste," and said Klander had apologized to Chow.

"Obviously, this is something the Liberal Party of Canada doesn't condone," Heckbert told the Canadian Press.

"It's our view that partisan rhetoric has its limits."