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Announcements, firings, former Chief of Staff to Gordon Campbell calling it for the NDP, sale of BC Place and maybe the Convention Centre pending a new administration in power post May 14th, Vancouver Point Grey on the verge of sending Premier Christy Clark on a permanent vacation — who says that British Columbia politics is dull?
If you take a look at the UBC Sauder Business School Market prediction to the right, you’ll see that the Liberals are in worse shape than they were last week: the NDP up from 54 to 58 seats, the Liberals down to 19 from 22. Too bad, so sad, the Liberals are going on a long, long vacation, as Vancouver Sun columnist writes that “Adrian Dix’s election strategy is to crush opponents and avoid the one-term blues.”
In other words, “Hello the Right Honourable Adrian Dix, forever more Premier of the lush, thriving Province of British Columbia.”
BC Election 2013: Media Coverage from here, there and everywhere
We are trying for pithy in today’s edition of our always informative Decision BC 2013 coverage, so let’s get right down to it, shall we?
- Vancouver Sun. British Columbia’s daily paper of record has ramped up it’s coverage of the election big time this week. Wednesday kicked off with this story from two of The Sun’s campaign trail reporters, Jonathan Fowlie and Tracy Campbell.
An NDP government would attempt to sell the newly renovated BC Place Stadium, and possibly the Vancouver Convention Centre, to help cover the significant losses at both publicly owned facilities, Adrian Dix announced Wednesday.
“When the operation of a facility draws tens of millions of dollars in public subsidy every year, and has left taxpayers with a mountain of debt, I believe we have to take a close look at whether that’s a business we should be in,” the NDP leader said while standing in front of BC Place.
“If the private sector can do a better job running BC Place, freeing taxpayers of millions of dollars in losses and reducing public debt, we’ve got a win-win, and we’ll pursue that.”
Dix said any sale would have to protect the future of both the B.C. Lions and the Vancouver Whitecaps, who use the stadium as their base of operations.
Elsewhere in Vancouver Sun coverage of Decision BC 2013, their April 24th editorial strongly urges British Columbians to get out to vote — ”It’s your own future you will be helping to decide. Not voting will only ensure somebody else decides it for you.” Well worth reading the entire, well-crafted editorial.
The Vancouver Sun’s Gordon Hoekstra, in a Prince George riding profile, writes that Liberal Attorney-General Shirley Bond, and neophyte Liberal candidate Mike Morris, a former RCMP north district commander, are in for the fight of their lives in this bellwether riding.
Lori Culbert, Chad Skelton and Gordon Hoekstra report that “the NDP raised just under $1 million from corporations in 2012, four times what they collected from the corporate sector in 2011.” Fortis B.C., a natural gas supplier, gave 30 times more money to the Liberals than the NDP from 2005 to 2011, but in 2012 made heftier donations to the NDP ($24,500) than to the Liberals ($18,000). Ah, ain’t that sweet.
And finally from the Vancouver Sun, the BC Conservative Party dumped their oleaginous Vancouver False Creek candidate, Ian Toothill, with Liberal candidate in the riding, former Mayor Sam Sullivan (an equally oleaginous fellow), and neophyte NDP candidate Matt Toner dancing a metaphorical jig. Vancouver False Creek will be one of the ridings to watch election night. With his name recognition, and a plethora of conservative voters in the riding’s Yaletown precinct, Sullivan could eke out a victory. Toner’s chances are probably somewhat diminished with Toothill out of the race. Still. Guess, we’ll just have to wait and see how much of a nail biter this one’ll be.
- Georgia Straight. Charlie Smith is really feeling his oats these days, and that’s a good thing. In this editorial, the estimable editor of The Straight writes that “the B.C. Liberals will be punished for the disgusting attack ads on Adrian Dix,” arising from soon-to-be Premier Dix’s heroic efforts on the campaign trail despite suffering the rigours of Type 1 diabetes. A very good piece, and well worth reading.
Talking about estimable people, former Chief of Staff to Gordon Campbell, Martyn Brown, continues to drive nails into Christy Clark’s candidacy for Premier, and the Liberal’s chances for anything akin to a phoenix-like victory come May 14th.
And finally from The Straight, a commentary from Vancouver Point Grey candidate, David Eby, who writes about “investing in our youth, and improving access to higher education.” Yep, that’s the same Dave Eby who’s running again Christy Clark, our soon-to-be ex-Premier. Yeah, that one. Full disclosure. I’m volunteering on David’s NDP campaign, so maybe I’m just a tad more enthusiastic about David’s candidacy than some, but you would be, too, if you knew him.
- Georgia Straight. Charlie Smith is really feeling his oats these days, and that’s a good thing. In this editorial, the estimable editor of The Straight writes that “the B.C. Liberals will be punished for the disgusting attack ads on Adrian Dix,” arising from soon-to-be Premier Dix’s heroic efforts on the campaign trail despite suffering the rigours of Type 1 diabetes. A very good piece, and well worth reading.
Well, there’s more to report but, really, how much more can you read? There’s a tune being sung here, and it ain’t a changin’ anytime soon.
(For the latest VanRamblings election coverage, click on Decision BC 2013)
(For those of you who arrived here looking for coverage of last week’s Kitsilano Community Centre AGM — as sorry an example of untoward democratic engagement as you’re ever likely to witness — VanRamblings’ coverage of the KitsCC AGM may be found here. The Vancouver Courier’s Sandra Thomas has written about the KitsCC AGM, as well, her coverage of the delirious, anti-community meeting to be found here.)
