Bike lanes are a big vote-getter for Vision Vancouver with their cyclist coalition

… with a Vision Vancouver 2018 Council ballot that would give room to the other parties. And that would likely mean at least one slot for OneCity, Judy Graves, for example; possibly Jean Swanson with COPE’s blessing; and two slots for the Greens, including incumbent Carr. As well, Vision has apparently (in early negotiations) already promised a slot for their by-election sacrificial lamb, Diego Cardona.

Yawn. As if OneCity has any intention of forming an alliance with a “developer party like Vision,” with much the same refrain commonly heard from most members of COPE and the Vancouver Greens. Could happen, but at this point in time such a left-of-centre alliance seems highly unlikely.

Even with the recently-announced provincial imposition of new municipal electoral finance reform limiting donations to $1200 per person, Vision Vancouver still maintains a distinct advantage as we head into next year’s municipal election — by a wide margin, VanRamblings would suggest.
Why? Coalition and identity politics, the latter defined as “voters going to the polls in their own self-interest, based on issues such as Union membership, gender identity and LGBTQ+ issues, and generational issues” — think bike lanes, loved by the young, and the health conscious.

• Unions. The new provincial legislation will not prevent Unions from across Metro Vancouver from operating dozens of phone rooms to get the vote out for Vision, with literature provided to the 45,000 Union members who reside in Vancouver reminding them that the last NPA administration locked workers out at City Hall for three months, as the Sam Sullivan administration attempted to gut CUPE’s contract.

  Union members will be reminded that for the past decade Vision Vancouver has signed a series of Union contracts at 4% a year (including benefits), setting the standard for municipal bargaining across the province, and during the years of the Campbell-Clark Con-Liberal provincial government that had set a zero-zero-zero mandate, had moved the government off of that so-called mandate, the provincial government eventually signing Union contracts at 2% annual wage increases (plus increased benefits), all of which had a salutary effect on the non-unionized sector of the population, as well.

  Pocketbook politics. What are the chances that any Union member voting in Vancouver will cast their ballot for a return to the hoary old days of the NPA, particularly when there’s a far-right-of-centre movement afoot to take over the NPA (as if the party wasn’t right wing enough), with an eye to trashing workers rights on every possible level?

• Cyclists. If the Union vote for Vision Vancouver is a lock, you know for certain that the 20,000+ strong cyclists’ coalition will make their way to the polls in droves to support the only civic party in Vancouver in favour of active transportation, and bikes and bike lanes in particular.

  The more the right-of-centre folks whine about the “imposition” of bike lanes, or start thoughtlessly stupid anti-bike lane petitions, the more gregarious the voting cyclist population in Vancouver becomes, as they work to ensure their families get to the polls to cast a ballot for Vision Vancouver. Good on the NPA supporters for coming out against bike lanes — you may consider every whiny social media post against bike lanes as another sure vote for Vision Vancouver come October 20, 2018.

• LGBTQ+ community. In the 2014 Vancouver municipal election the West End vote for Vision Vancouver was 73%. If Unions are working overtime to ensure their members cast a ballot for Vision Vancouver, and the cyclist coalition in our city are doing the same thing, neither of the groups can hold a candle to the power of the LGBTQ+ community to get the vote out for Vision Vancouver — who will turn out in droves for their favoured civic party, in each and every neighbourhood across the city.

And let us not forget, either, that with three progressive governments in power at the federal, provincial and municipal levels — for the first time in 45 years — Vision Vancouver finds itself in the catbird seat in the lead-up to the next civic election.

• Housing? You can bet with recent Vision Vancouver City Councillor Geoff Meggs in place as Premier John Horgan’s Chief of Staff, and Vision Vancouver supporter / Vancouver-Point Grey MLA David Eby sitting as a key member of the NDP government’s Housing Cabinet Committee that a big time housing announcement involving the construction of thousands of genuinely affordable (mostly housing co-operative) homes will be announced either late next spring, or in early September — that pending announcement, at least in part, meant to bolster Vision’s chances for re-election. The Trudeau government will also want to get into the housing announcement as a major funder, in order that by the time the 2019 federal election is underway, Mr. Trudeau can point to thousands of homes under construction thanks to funding from his government.

• Transportation / Broadway Corridor. As much as VanRamblings would like to see light rail down the Broadway corridor, all three levels of government are wedded to the idea of a high-speed subway down the Broadway corridor, with all the preparatory work now complete. You can bet dollars to donuts that Prime Minister Trudeau, Premier John Horgan and Mayor Gregor Robertson will make a joint announcement in the lead-up to the October 20th, 2018 election confirming that funding is in place, and construction of the Broadway corridor high-speed, underground transportation line / subway will be underway by mid-year 2018.

Hallelujah, and save the day. Thousands of new affordable homes under construction in Vancouver, and a rapid transit line down Broadway also under construction — all due to the fine negotiating skills, don’tcha know, of our perspicacious and once-and-forever Mayor, Gregor Robertson!

The October 20th, 2018 Vancouver municipal election will be a whole other kettle of fish: Vision will put all the resources at their command into getting out the vote, their bike lane and cyclist supporter coalition will get out to the polls in droves, and Unions will be working overtime to ensure that the 45,000 Vision Vancouver Union-vote remains rock solid. And since attack politics worked so well for the BC NDP in the May 19th provincial election, you can bet that Vision Vancouver will pull out all the stops to ensure their progressive voter coalition sweeps them back into power a year from now.

The British Columbia Cabinet of NDP Premier John Horgan, sworn in on July 18, 2017

When Vancouver-Point Grey MLA David Eby was sworn into government on July 18, 2017 as British Columbia’s 36th Attorney General, members of the recently de-throned B.C. Liberal party government (and their supporters) targeted David Eby with a vicious take down campaign, in one of the biggest political blunders ever conducted by an ‘out of government’ political party. Vancouver City Councillor / B.C. Liberal farm team activist Melissa De Genova was assigned the role of conducting the ‘take down David Eby’ social media campaign, focusing on a 9-year-old letter from the Vancouver Police Union President, Tom Stamatakis, in which he declared that Mr. Eby “never let the facts or context” interfere with a “smear campaign” of Vancouver Police. The issue, at the time, was the August 13th 2007 police shooting of 39-year-old Paul Boyd, who had been shot eight times.

In a July 19th article in the Globe and Mail, newly-elected Liberal MLA Jas Johal elaborated in a statement: “David Eby has a long history of criticizing law-enforcement officials and making misleading statements about women and men in uniform.

David Eby wrote a book on how to sue the police, criticized police activities at the 2010 Olympics, and his anti-police activism has drawn sharp rebuke from the head of the Vancouver Police Union.

Now [Premier] John Horgan has put someone with a long track record of fighting the police in charge of upholding the law.”

Mr. Eby, who was just turning 40 when the B.C. Liberal / NPA-generated brouhaha began had stated in an April interview with The Globe and Mail that he welcomed the combative approach Mr. Horgan brought to politics.

Tch, tch, Mr. Johal and Ms. De Genova — you know not what you do.
For, you see, over the course of the past four years — since first being elected to government — David Eby has emerged as one of the most trusted and beloved political figures to ever grace the hallways of the B.C. Legislature. As such, he has proven to be all but immune from the politics of personal destruction as played by a louche political opposition party. The phony mid-July “David Eby controversy” generated by the B.C. Liberals died almost as quickly as any notion that Donald Trump is somehow “presidential” — no one bought the B.C. Liberals’ grievous line of malarkey.

David Eby & his lovely bride, with inauguration attendees in Victoria, July 18th, 2017

So what has the indefatigable David Eby been up to since being sworn into cabinet on Tuesday, July 18th — aside from introducing electoral finance & lobbyist reform legislation, vetting all government legislation that makes its way onto the floor of the British Columbia Legislature, and doing yeoman’s work as the Minister Responsible for ICBC — he’ll wrestle those premiums down, in keeping with the mantra of the John Horgan government to keep life affordable for all British Columbians — and Minister Responsible for gaming policy and enforcement, and liquor control and licensing, announcing plans for an autumn 2018 referendum on proportional representation, working with stakeholders to reform B.C.’s justice system, and seeking (and achieving) intervener status in the current court case against Kinder Morgan, among a myriad of other successful endeavours?
For those of us fortunate enough to reside in the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey, we know — cuz David, and his able constituent support team posted a newsletter to us this past weekend.
Which is great for us, but not-so-great for those of you who do not live in the most westerly part of our wonderful city of Vancouver (and, no, not all of us who reside in Kitsilano / Point Grey are zillionaires — there are a great many students who live in the riding, as well as longtime renters who reside in affordable accommodation, and seniors, just like VanRamblings, who live on a small fixed income in a toasty warm housing co-operative).
Do you want to read David Eby’s October newsletter? Yep — we thought you did. All you have to do to read the newsletter is click on the ‘Read More‘ link just below, and VanRamblings will present to you the October 2017 David Eby Constituent Newsletter. Read it — you’ll be glad you did!

Continue reading BC Government: David Eby’s ‘Rockin’ October 2017 Newsletter →