Mayor Roberston’s statement above represents the big lie of Vision politics.
The contest for a Vision Vancouver Park Board nomination proved just as dishonest and lacking in transparency as every policy-oriented decision taken on by the cynical, near imperialist power, Vision political machine, a hard-driving, arrogant, crude, conniving, ruthless, intolerant, and devious municipal administration dedicated to the maintenance of power at all costs.
VanRamblings would also like to believe triumphant New Voices, One Vision campaign organizer Stefan Avlijas, when he wrote to us last week, stating:
I wanted to let you know that in your most recent piece, the trusted source you quote is wrong on several assumptions — from the (New Voices, One Vision) team’s individual strengths and credentials, to a perception of a “fix”. While I’m honoured that my design skills have been mistaken for the polish of an establishment slate, I have to point out factual errors. I guess there is such a thing as being too organized!
For the record, while I eschew identity politics that paints people into corners, I wanted to point out that Coree has been extremely active in the LGBTQ community as a Board member of Out In Sports, and has robust environmental credentials as a biologist with a specific interest in ecological restoration.”
VanRamblings is particularly querulous about Stefan’s Facebook post last evening, when he wrote, “I’m excited to unplug and take some time off after several months on the campaign trail, but I’m feeling exceptionally grateful for the opportunity to show how much campaigns matter.”
VanRamblings would ask how a several month campaign organizing involvement squares with the notion that the “fix” wasn’t in; that doesn’t quite, somehow, jibe with our notion of a fair process for the contest to win a nomination for the party of one’s choice — all of which begs the question, as well, of “Who funded Stefan Avlijas’ involvement in the successful Park Board nomination race for the New Voices, One Vision campaign?”
And how was it that VanRamblings was able to predict in our first tweet on the matter, on June 12th — a full ten days before the Vision nominating meeting — who the eventual winners of the Vision Vancouver Park Board nomination race would be, if in fact the fix wasn’t in, as we wrote subsequently on VanRamblings, and Vision Vancouver hadn’t predetermined that a young diversity | LGBTQ+ | ethnic community friendly slate was necessary to secure the Vision vote this November?
For the record, VanRamblings is not calling into question Stefan Avlijas’ integrity; we both like and respect Stefan, the campaign organizer who, in 2013, was hired by the David Eby Vancouver-Point Grey NDP campaign to get out the student vote (which he did), and who played an integral role — along with COPE’s Sean Antrim, current Eby constituency assistant Gala Milne, defeated Vision Park Board candidate Catherine Evans, community activist Mary Tenny, and David Eby campaign manager, the quite spectacular, ever-wonderful Kate Van Meer-Mass, and a host of volunteers, one of whom was (in the interests of full disclosure) VanRamblings — in securing a David Eby win in the 2013 campaign for provincial elected office.
VanRamblings will publish further background and necessary insight into the (we believe, essentially corrupt) process that led to the overwhelming New Voices, One Vision victory on Sunday evening, and what the New Voices slate win means for Vision Vancouver, and for the electorate, heading into the heart of the 2014 Vancouver civic election campaign.
