Perhaps the most devastating loss in the recent Vancouver civic election was the NPA School Board majority win, and the consequent turfing out of the respected, hard-working, centrist, consultative and initiative-driven majority COPE school trustee slate — Kevin Millsip, Noel Herron, Angela Kenyon, Jane Bouey, and Green Party trustee Andrea Reimer.
Even given the downloading, by the provincial Liberal government, of a teacher pay raise onto school boards throughout the province, the COPE School Board was the only Board in the province to not lay teachers off during their three-year term, and to maintain smaller class sizes (or in the case of kindergarten, reduce class sizes and go to full day kindergarten).
Unlike past COPE School Boards, the 2002 – 2005 COPE Vancouver school trustees did not pick unwinnable fights with the provincial government, but instead worked together with senior staff in the provincial Ministry of Education to secure additional funding for inner city schools for our region’s most vulnerable children; developed a programme to make all schools across our province seismically safe; expanded literacy programmes, and increased spaces for French Immersion; and developed groundbreaking multi-cultural, anti-racism and anti-homophobia programmes.
Why was the popular COPE School Board defeated? Easy question that. COPE school trustees fell victim to the infighting between COPE Classic and COPE Lite / Vision Vancouver, as slate voting took over to elect a majority NPA slate to the Vancouver School and Park Boards, and City Council.
A diverse NPA Council will be what it will be. Mayor-elect Sam Sullivan will set the agenda for his, and the NPA’s, coming term of office. The Park Board is, for the most part, a largely non-partisan (no pun intended) entity, a Board that tends to work co-operatively and without rancour; commissioners from COPE and the majority NPA Board will almost assuredly act in the best interests of Vancouver citizens, and citizens across the Lower Mainland.
But School Board? Children, parents, teachers, and non-teaching support staff are in for a rough ride with a Ken Denike-led NPA majority on the 2005 – 2008 Vancouver School Board. The NPA School Board will almost certainly prove to be a right wing, ultra-conservative and ideologically driven Board.

Continue reading School Board Loss: Whither Now Education in Vancouver? →

On Saturday, November 19th Sam Sullivan became the 44th Mayor of Vancouver. What does Mr. Sullivan’s ascension to the highest political office in Canada’s third largest city mean for the people of Vancouver?
Well, first off, a return to decorum. Sullivan has promised that City Council debate will not be defined by acrimony, personal invective, and ad hominem attack. All points of view will be heard and decisions will be arrived at only after due consideration. Is Mr. Sullivan to be believed on this front? VanRamblings believes Mr. Sullivan to be a reasonable person who will do everything in his considerable power to return civility to Council debate.
In setting a new — and potentially co-operative — tone at City Hall, perhaps the first tentative steps might be taken towards healing the divide that exists in our City between rich and poor, East side and West side, privilege and anomie. The most salutary aspect of a new start is the sense of hope that is inspired when one does not know for sure what is to come. VanRamblings hopes for the best and trusts that the newly elected majority Non-Partisan Association Council will, while working with the Vision and COPE members of Council, move this City forward toward brighter days.
Lest you think that VanRamblings has been consuming a little too much of the NPA Kool-Aid, we would be remiss if mention were not made of the controversy surrounding Mr. Sullivan’s election to the Mayor’s job. If you look at the chart above, you’ll see that Independent candidate James Green polled third in the mayoralty race. Adding James Green’s vote to that of Vision Vancouver mayoralty candidate Jim Green’s vote places Vision’s Jim Green 526 votes ahead of Mr. Sullivan, the declared winner of Saturday’s mayoral contest. Were there “dirty tricks” involved in the NPA’s alleged support of an independent James Green candidacy, a cynical, dastardly ploy designed to confuse voters? Vision Vancouver certainly thinks so.
Re-elected COPE councillor David Cadman chalks Green’s loss up to hubris
You only have to be aware of Jim Green’s history to know that the issue of NPA “dirty tricks” will not be going away anytime soon; Jim’s a fighter and will see it through to the end. Meanwhile, Mayor-elect Sullivan has made statements to the press that he wants to get on with the job, and to that end has extended an olive branch to his Vision Vancouver opponent, suggesting that there continues to be a role for Mr. Green to play in the development of the Woodward’s site, a long cherished dream of Mr. Green.

Continue reading Sam Sullivan: The New Mayor of Vancouver →

The 2005 race for Vancouver Municipal Council, School and Park Board is over. The NPA scored a stunning come-from-behind victory, all but decimating the COPE civic party. The election of four of five Vision Vancouver councillors sets a new direction for the progressive forces on Council. What all of these changes mean at the end of the day, it’s too early to say. But development in the City will most certainly take a different direction, and municipal issues will be re-prioritized. And it was always thus.
In the coming days, VanRamblings will publish our take on the meaning behind the change in direction for civic politics, in Vancouver and across the Lower Mainland. In the meantime, we can take heart that the people have spoken, and over the course of the next three years we will receive the kind of civic governance for which a majority of Vancouverites voted.

l-r: Spencer Herbert, Anita Romaniuk, Omar Kassis, Jenn McGinn, Mel Lehan, Loretta Woodcock

Last week, VanRamblings published a story endorsing COPE — Vancouver’s Coalition of Progressive Electors civic party — as the only municipal party that champions a sustainable programme of development that balances economic and environmental interests, towards the creation of a more livable city for all of us. Have already wholeheartedly endorsed the COPE slate of candidates for City Council and School Board, VanRamblings turns its attention today to the robust COPE Park Board slate.
Over the course of the past three years, a COPE Park Board, while enhancing public participation and access to the Board, has …

• Championed the inclusion of 26 acres of park, and a 30,000 sq. ft. community centre at the future southeast False Creek development
• Expanded wheelchair access in our parks and introduced universal design principles to accommodate all members of the public, regardless of physical and mental ability
• Established skateboard parks beneath the east end of the Georgia Viaduct, and in the Strathcona and Quilchena neighbourhoods
• Expanded the Champlain Community Centre, including new child care facilities; rebuilt and expanded the Killarney Pool; undertook an extensive renovation of Renfrew Pool; completed the Millennium Lawn Bowling and Gymnastics facility at Riley Park; established a new artificial turf playing field in Kerrisdale embraced by the community; and established new, or renovated, parks including Emery Barnes, Sahali, Tea Swamp, Strathcona, Heather, George Wainborne, David Lam Phase Two, and Kingcrest
• Extended off leash hours for dog parks, while promoting public education for dog owners
• Promoted and facilitated community gardens throughout the city, and
• Improved environmental practices, including the diversion of rainwater into daylighted streams, as well as the re-use of rainwater for irrigation; expanded the use of green building technology and energy conservation; expanded the recycling programme and the re-use of materials; and continued our commitment to the Cool Vancouver Climate Change plan, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gases

In only a few days, you will be asked to cast your ballot for a new Park Board. Sitting COPE Park Board commissioners Anita Romaniuk and Loretta Woodcock, and new candidates Mel Lehan, Spencer Herbert, Omar Kassis, and Jenn McGinn are deserving of your vote. If a majority COPE Park Board is elected to a second term, a COPE Park Commissioners team would …

• Continue the renewal and expansion of community centres, ice rinks, swimming pools, and fitness centres
• Move Park Board meetings into community centres, and create an open dailogue with the community
• Approve a plebiscite for the 2008 civic election on whether or not to phase out the containment of whales and dolphins in Stanley Park
• Continue the development of guidelines for waterfront and shoreline activities through the new Waterfront Planning Study
• Engage in a consultative process with young people to enhance youth programming in parks and recreation centres
• Adopt the LEED gold standard for new facilities, thus reducing future operating costs as well as reducing environmental impact
• Keep annual operating expenses and annual inflationary fee increases for facilities and programmes within the target inflationary increases set by the City, while rolling back the NPA-approved 7% increase in seniors fees for golfing, swimming, and fitness centres passed for the 2003 budget

These are good people. Hard-working people. Caring people. On November 19th, when you cast your ballot for a reinvigorated Vancouver Park Board, VanRamblings urges you to support the COPE team of Park Board candidates — Spencer Herbert, Omar Kassis, Mel Lehan, Jenn McGinn, Anita Romaniuk, and Loretta Woodcock — all of whom will work towards the creation of a more livable city for each and every one of us.