Category Archives: Politics

Vancouver Votes 2018 | Random Ballot | How Many is Too Many?

September 17, 2018BC Politics, Politics, Vancouver, Vancouver Votes 2018Raymond Tomlin

A record 71 candidates are vying for a position of City Council in the 2018 Vancouver civic election

A record 71 candidates are vying for a seat on City Council, in the 2018 Vancouver municipal election, along with 21 Mayoral candidates, and 33 candidates apiece for Vancouver Park Board and Vancouver School Board.
Advance polls open on Wednesday, October 10th and close one week later on October 17th. Election day 2018 voting will take place from 8am til 8pm on Saturday, October 20th. We oughta know the final results of the current Vancouver civic election and our new civic governors, shortly after 10pm.
Those setting about to cast their votes at their local polling station will be faced with a randomly organized, non-alphabeticized ballot, with some 158 names on it, and will vote for one Mayoral candidate, 10 candidates for City Council, 9 candidates for School Board, and 7 candidates for Park Board.

The Google Map above was created by Christopher Porter, a proud dad and husband, on his Canadian Veggie blog — Mr. Porter refers to himself on his Twitter feed as a “runner, cyclist, urbanist, and data nerd software engineer (he’s currently employed as a senior software developer at New Hippo Health) — is himself weighing in on the current Vancouver civic election.
The clearly highly technically-skilled Mr. Porter has also created expandable and easy-to-read Google maps on his site for where each of the candidates running for School Board and Park Board reside, and in which neigbourhood within our city each may be found at home. We’d say it’s very much worthwhile for you to consider surfing to Mr. Porter’s informative and readable Canadian Veggie site, both for the maps, and to read an opinion on election goings-on other than what you read on VanRamblings.
Later this week, VanRamblings will adopt the format of Mr. Porter’s Vancouver Election 2018 Primer post to weigh in as he has on the civic parties in this election (we like his work, but we’re not particularly thrilled about his, what we consider to be, ageist commentary on COPE candidates for City Council, Jean Swanson and Anne Roberts … still and all).

Here’s the Vancouver Sun on the Mayoral and Council candidates running for office in the Vancouver civic election, replete with pictures and bios.

Simon Fraser University professors Shauna Sylvester and Kennedy Stewart (the latter, who recently resigned his Burnaby South Member of Parliament seat) are the nominally left-of-centre, progressive independent candidates for Mayor with the highest profiles, most funding, and best organized campaigns. According to the recent Canseco poll, Stewart has secured 23% support from voters, with 19% registering support for Shauna Sylvester.
Sylvester and Stewart’s right-of-centre mainstream party Mayoral competitors are Vancouver Non-Partisan Association’s Ken Sim — sitting at 14% support among Vancouver voters — followed by ProVancouver’s David Chen (11%), the Coalition Party’s Wai Young (8%), Yes Vancouver’s Hector Bremner (5%), and Vancouver First’s Fred Harding (3%).
At best, the remaining independent, non-affiliated candidates for Mayor, woefully underfunded and with little public profile, would have to be considered also-rans in the 2018 Vancouver Mayoral sweepstakes — including COPE-affilated John Yano, and NPA-affiliated Jason Lamarche.

At the last minute, a confused, and as one of the commenters on the video above wrote, “out of touch” Mayoral candidate, IDEA’s Connie Fogal, a retired lawyer — railing against City Hall’s Empty Homes Tax (which Kennedy Stewart says he’ll triple should he become Mayor), and the province’s speculation tax — threw her hat into the ring. We know not why.
Restore Vancouver’s Steffan Ileman obviously thought better of entering the race — his name is nowhere to be found on the ballot. Candidates for Vancouver’s newest civic party, Reclaim Vancouver — which recently announced to much foofaraw on the steps of City Hall: nowhere to be found on the civic election list. In both instances, we’re all the better for it.

There are a handful of fairly well-known, relatively high profile independent candidates who have submitted nomination papers, set to run for a seat on Vancouver City Council. VanRamblings’ two favourites are mediator and well-respected longtime politico, Rob McDowell, and city hero and Overdose Prevention Society founder, Sarah Blyth — both of whom VanRamblings will enthusiastically endorse as must-elect candidates for City Council.

Erin Shum, 2018 independent candidate for Vancouver City Council” src=”https://www.vanramblings.com/erin-shum-council.jpg” border=”1″ width=”520″ height=”192″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” />
There look to be five other recommendable independent candidates for Vancouver City Council: <a href= Wade Grant of the Musqueam Indian Band, who once served on the Vancouver Police Board; former NPA Park Board candidate, Ken Low; Green Party member running as an independent (cuz she’s got something to say), Françoise Raunet; 5 Kids 1 Condo’s Adrian Crook; and our favourite of all, current Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Erin Shum, who her constituents love (and for good reason).

Vancouver Votes 2018 | Upcoming Mayor & All Candidates Forums

September 12, 2018BC Politics, Politics, Vancouver, Vancouver Votes 2018Raymond Tomlin

In a change municipal election year of great consequence and generational import, it is the responsibility of every voter and every citizen to make ourselves as aware as possible of who the candidates are who have offered themselves for civic office who best represent our core values, candidates with a history of community activism and achievement who will be best positioned to enact the civic change that we — individually and collectively — believe must be accomplished over the course of the next four years, in the best interests of all of those of us who reside in the city of Vancouver.
The City of Vancouver has a partial list of many of the upcoming Mayoral, Council and Park Board all-candidates debates. Worth checking out.

Mayoral candidates, independents Shauna Sylvester and Kennedy Stewart, and NPA Vancouver’s Ken Sim will be present, as will OneCity Vancouver’s Christine Boyle and COPE’s Anne Roberts (the latter two persons, members of the Holy Trinity of must-elect Council candidates — the trinity completed by wondrous, must-elect NPA Council candidate, Sarah Kirby-Yung — as warmly identified by VanRamblings in our expansive May 29th post).

Are you curious about the relationship between science and public policy? Want to give your ideas and have a respectful conversation with candidates from across party lines? This event below is just for you! Everyone is welcome, however space is limited, so this will a ticketed event($10). Light refreshments will be available at this event.

Arts + culture in Vancouver is just not being given its due in the 2018 Vancouver civic election. Thankfully, the folks involved in the BC Alliance for Arts + Culture have come to our collective rescue, by hosting an invaluable Arts + Culture forum, on Monday, October 15th.

Thus far, Yes Vancouver’s Hector Bremner, Pro Vancouver’s David Chen, Vancouver First’s Fred Harding, independent Mayoral candidates Kennedy Stewart and Shauna Sylvester, Coalition Vancouver’s Wai Young, and the Green Party’s extraordinary, must-elect candidate Pete Fry will be present for the forum. At this time, the NPA have confirmed their participation, but have not provided the name of their party’s representative to the forum.

Vancouver Mayoral Forums & Townhalls

Eleven days before the election, there’s this Mayoral forum …

And has long proved to be the case, and generally the best-attended of the Mayoral debates (seating capacity at Christ Church Cathedral, which is generally packed to the rafters, is 600 but they packed in 850 eager voters in 2014). Come on, come all to the can’t miss Cathedral Mayoral Debate …

Vancouver City Council All-Candidates Forums
And on a very busy night when the definitive School Board and Park Board meetings are set to take place, among a raft of other all candidate meetings, there’s this Mayoral and City Council meeting planned …

If you’re aware of other all-candidates debates for those running for a position on Vancouver City Council, please write to us at …

Vancouver Park Board All-Candidates Forums

On Wednesday, October 3, from 6 – 10pm, truck on over to The Hall at Sunset Community Centre, 6810 Main Street, to meet the candidates who want your vote to become one of the seven commissioners for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.
Or, as above, Wednesday, October 3rd, from 7:30 to 9:30pm, visit the Trout Lake Community Centre, 3360 Victoria Drive, to meet the candidates running for Park Board, who will be present with Council candidates. Hear their views and / or ask them questions at this All Candidates Meeting.

Vancouver Votes 2018 | Who’ll Be Vancouver’s Next Mayor?

September 11, 2018BC Politics, Politics, Vancouver, Vancouver Votes 2018Raymond Tomlin

Squamish Nation Hereditary Chief, Ian Campbell, getting out of the 2018 race to become Vancouver’s next Mayor while the getting was good. That’s three we’ve lost so far.

Yesterday afternoon, Vision Vancouver’s Mayoral candidate, Ian Campbell, pulled out of the Vancouver civic election race.
In a crowded race where a half dozen plus Mayoral aspirants have emerged, perhaps the fact that Mr. Campbell, a Squamish Nation Hereditary Chief, failing to receive the all-important labour endorsement of the Vancouver District and Labour Council, or the disastrous internal and public polling which continues to show Mr. Campbell likely to gain no more than 9% of the vote, coupled with new provincially-imposed electoral finance reform legislation — which effectively leveled the playing field for his candidacy with the other Mayoral aspirants, making it near impossible for him to effectively get his message out — contributed to the decision by the well-experienced and capable Mr. Campbell (who would have made a fine Mayor) to withdraw from the race to become Vancouver’s next Mayor.
Vision Vancouver co-chair Michael Haack posted an e-mail last night stating that the “focus of Vision Vancouver will now be to support our talented candidates running for Council, School Board and Park Board.” As in, Vision Vancouver will not run a mayoral candidate (as in, “We’re throwing in the towel, and screaming uncle”) in the current Vancouver municipal election.

Quitto Maggi’s ‘too early to tell’ Mainstreet Research Vancouver Mayoral aspirant poll

Chances are, despite the kind words of concern expressed by leading Vancouver Mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart last evening, that there was much celebrating in the Kennedy Stewart camp and in the offices and among the membership of the Vancouver and District Labour Council, which has surely carried over to today.
With the endorsement of the VDLC and polling showing Mr. Stewart with the clear left-of-centre lead in the Vancouver civic election, varying from 23% to 26% support depending on the poll, his team and labour’s thinking must be that a good portion of the Vision vote will now convert to support for Mr. Stewart, making him a virtual shoe-in to become Vancouver’s next Mayor.
And, why not? Thus far in the campaign, Kennedy Stewart has sounded for all the world like the perfect out-of-touch 2018, labour-endorsed tried-and-true, he finds it difficult to answer even the easiest question, silver spoon in his mouth Gregor Robertson re-incarnation, talking about building …

25,000 new non-profit affordable rental homes over the next ten years.

“I’ll focus on building affordable rental homes for those making $80,000 a year or less,” Mr. Stewart promises,”more non-market and supportive housing for our most vulnerable citizens, and targeted housing solutions for Indigenous Peoples, cultural communities, seniors, and people living with disabilities.”

Gosh, just thrills you to read that, doesn’t it?

Shauna Sylvester — independent, well-experienced Vancouver mayoral candidate, and the ‘gal with a bold and effective action plan’ in the 2018 Vancouver civic election

All that talk about building housing co-ops and co-housing on city-owned and federal and provincial Crown land, with construction and materials costs gleaned from developers’ Community Amenity Contributions, towards building the city we need, a city for all of us. Oh, what’s that you’re saying? Kennedy Stewart is not saying any of that — independent Mayoral candidate Shauna Sylvester, who has long lived in a housing co-op, is the only one talking about building housing co-ops and co-housing, as a central theme of her well-articulated and thoughtful affordable housing plan.
Perhaps Mr. Kennedy, with his $168,000 MP salary, is unaware that the median one-person household income in Vancouver is $38,449, the median household income $72,662 (those durned happily married or co-habitating couples). What’s that you say, Mr. Stewart — you’re going to “focus on building affordable rental homes for those making $80,000 a year (or less).” Gosh — mighty big and white of ya, lookin’ after us poor folk.
One is left to wonder what part of Vancouver’s dire emergency, decade long affordable housing crisis does Mr. Stewart not quite grok? Where’s his heart, where’s his action plan, what does he plan to do for seniors, for millennials, for the working poor, for our city’s indigent population, for single parent families and our city’s children living in wont and despair, where’s his plan to do something, something needed and bold … NOW ?

Why is Kennedy Stewart in the lead and set to become our next Mayor, if we’re to believe the polls? Easy answer there: he’s the most high profile of the candidates in a field of unknowns who are running to become our next Mayor, and a sitting NDP MP, when Vancouver voters overwhelmingly elected NDP members to the Legislature in Victoria in all but two ridings.
In the confusing miasma that is the 2018 Vancouver civic election, name recognition and public profile counts for everything; being a good looking younger man, a Simon Fraser University professor, and a 15-year resident of the City of Vancouver — even if since 2011 he’s sat as the MP for Burnaby South — doesn’t hurt his electoral chances, either, one supposes.
Georgia Straight editor Charlie Smith seems pretty sold on Shauna Sylvester, though. And, why not — she’s the only candidate for Mayor, thus far, to articulate an effective, action-oriented policy development plan.
Truth to tell, VanRamblings finds what Shauna Sylvester has to stay quite compelling, and if we were being honest, we’d have to write that we’re now leaning Ms. Sylvester’s way, as well — because, as we’ve written previously, a woman’s place is in elected office making a difference, while helping to make ours a better, more just city and world, for each and every one of us.

Vancouver Votes 2018 | The Season of Our Electoral Despair

September 10, 2018BC Politics, Politics, Vancouver, Vancouver Votes 2018Raymond Tomlin

Nominations for political parties and candidates in Vancouver’s current civic election opened on Tuesday, September 4th and are set to close on Friday, September 14th. Vancouverites can reasonably expect to find 12 municipal parties on the random ballot when they cast their vote next month, comprising at least 75 candidates for City Council, 20+ candidates for Vancouver School Board, and an equal number at Vancouver Park Board.
For journalists, the punditry and anyone who gives a good galldarn about democracy, one cannot help but feel a sense of despair about the coming Vancouver civic election: too many civic parties without any public profile whatsoever, too few incumbents running for office (only three in Vancouver: Adriane Carr, Melissa De Genova and Heather Deal), too many candidates who are utterly unknown to the electorate, the civic election occurring almost a month earlier than the usual third Saturday of November — giving voters too little time to get know the candidates, a situation exacerbated by the new electoral finance rules brought in by the Horgan provincial government, which will result in virtually no monies available to purchase billboard or newspaper ads, or run radio or television ads singing the praises of any particular given civic party, and with the very real prospect that Vision Vancouver could be wiped off the electoral map come Saturday, October 20th, predicting the outcome of the current Vancouver civic election is a mug’s came. From an online GlobalNews story …

Retiring Vancouver City Councillor George Affleck says campaign finance restrictions, combined with the fact that the elections are taking place earlier in the year, could mean fewer voters will take part in the October 20th civic elections.

“Those two things, I think, are going to have a huge impact on turnout,” Affleck wrote in a Facebook post urging Premier John Horgan “to look at ensuring people head to the polls and vote.”

Affleck will introduce a motion at the upcoming September 18th meeting of Council requesting that the province “immediately consider enhancing the existing communications budgets for Elections BC, various regional districts and UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities) to help raise public awareness of the imminent 2018 local government elections in British Columbia on an emergency basis.”

“I think people don’t see the election coming, and you also see a lot less money spent by parties … so in general you won’t see much marketing about an election coming, and I think people will be potentially not aware as they have [been] in the past.”

Too little, too late? Will the Horgan government listen, or even care?

No one knows a darn thing about how the October 20th election will turn out, least of all Quito Maggi’s Mainstreet Research polling firm, who right up until the last minute in the 2015 federal election was predicting an overwhelming Stephen Harper majority government. Locally, in their latest poll, Mainstreet Research surveyed 862 Vancouver residents about the coming civic election. With a full 41.8% of those surveyed undecided as to whom they will cast their ballot for Mayor, the results of the survey aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on, never mind your time or consideration.
Respected civic affairs reporter Frances Bula, in a story published in The Globe and Mail this past Friday, writes …

“The province’s already dismal rates of voter turnout for civic elections could plunge even lower in this fall’s B.C. election, the result of several factors that have experienced political observers worrying the vote could be decided on single issues rather than solutions to severe problems.

Low voter participation could mean councillors and mayors are elected by small fractions of a city’s total population — a trend that could favour either incumbents or candidates who appeal to a small but determined group of motivated voters angry about one particular problem.”

Later in the Friday Globe story, Ms. Bula records pollster Mario Canseco, whose company Research Co. has been tracking voter opinions in some local cities, as saying he’s noticing a much larger proportion of undecided voters this year — around 30 per cent to 35 per cent, compared with the 15 per cent or 20 per cent he usually sees in federal or provincial elections.
As Ms. Bula writes at the end of her Globe and Mail story, “In Vancouver, for example, only three of the current 11-member council are planning to run again for the same position.”
In an informal conversation VanRamblings had at a local Starbucks this past Thursday with the eminence gris of civic affairs reporting, the affable and concerned Ms. Bula also expressed a dismay shared by all those who care about the state of our civic democracy, and how we will be governed in Vancouver going forward …

“With at least eight new members of Council, it’s going to take them a year and a half to find the bathrooms at City Hall,” Ms. Bula opined to us.

The wholesale change of government at City Hall that we are about to witness in Vancouver may bode well for voters in the long term, but in the short term it’s going to be sheer hell at City Hall these next couple of years.
Civic politics in Vancouver these past 10 years has been so easy on the Vancouver electorate, who were offered a clear choice (and an alphabetical ballot) when they went to the polls: the bike sharing, bike lane building Greenest City Action Plan endorsing, anti-racist and diversity advocating, reconciliation with our indigenous people’s promoting, LGBTQ2+ / gender variant community championing Vision Vancouver vs those dastardly NPA ‘bah humbug, decrease the surplus population’ types, bent on firing city workers in the race to the bottom, cutting a swath of social justice programmes and City Hall advisory committees in order to ensure that their rich friends and supporters would pay much less in the way of property tax, while the rest of us suffered, and who could give a good galldarn about affordable housing (to which Vision Vancouver at least paid lip service).
Well, dear and trusting reader: those halcyon days are over.
The punditry and almost everyone plugged into the civic election scene believes that Vision Vancouver is going to be wiped off the electoral map, the attacks from both their left and right flanks unrelenting, the party doing itself no favours when announcing their latest “affordable housing” initiative this summer, the new 90-unit River District Housing Co-operative “geared toward families earning $82,000 to $110,000”, with “moderate” rents ranging from $2,050 to $2,750. All well and good for the West End condominium penthouse residing Mayor of our city. The “rest of us”, though, are left shaking our heads at a civic leader and a civic government that has lost touch with the electorate, and the people of Vancouver.

Restore Vancouver, Reclaim Vancouver, Yes Vancouver, the Vancouver Non-Partisan Association, the Green Party of Vancouver, Vancouver First, Vision Vancouver, the Coalition Party (which will announce their seventh candidate for City Council, Ken Charko, on Wednesday), IDEA, OneCity Vancouver, Pro Vancouver and the Coalition of Progressive Electors — step right up folks, vote for us, we know you don’t know us, and thanks to John Horgan’s electoral finance reform legislation we don’t have any money to spend on brochures, or social media, newspaper, radio or television ads, we know you don’t have the first clue about who any of our candidates are, but trust us, vote for us, we have your best interests at heart. Honest, we do.