Category Archives: Vancouver

Vancouver Municipal Election Candidates Coming Into Focus

Vancouver

CATHERINE EVANS, DAVID EBY, KERRY JANG

      Catherine Evans                   David Eby                 Kerry Jang

Well, it looks as if the list of candidates for the fall municipal election is firming up somewhat. And, further, it looks as if any deal between COPE and Vision Vancouver may be out the window. What this would appear to mean for Vancouverites is that COPE and Vision will likely field full slates.
Of course, no deal between COPE and Vision means war between the two centre-left parties, and the likelihood of the NPA’s Peter Ladner running up the middle in his bid to gain the Mayor’s chair, as well as better prospects for incumbent NPA Councilors Suzanne Anton, Kim Capri and Elizabeth Ball.
In recent days, three, new high profile Vision Vancouver candidates — including Pivot Legal Society’s David Eby; president of the B.C. Society for Public Education, Catherine Evans; and UBC medical-school professor and eastside resident, Kerry Jang, have announced their bid for a Council seat.
Longtime politico Geoff Meggs announced for Vision some time ago.
The centrist Vision Vancouver civic party, then, would appear to be looking forward to running a full Council slate for the fall — made up of the four incumbents and, to date, four members who’ve announced (Andrea Reimer has yet to announce, and recently defeated Vision mayoral candidate, Allan De Genova, continues to be hotly pursued by Vision to run for Council, an entreaty to Mr. De Genova et famille destined for failure it would seem …).
A full Vision slate for Council leaves no room for any deal at all with COPE.
With significant contributions already in the kitty from some of the more progressive developers in our city, as well as monies from the gambling industry — with even more funds coming in from the better than 13,000 members of the nascent political party — Vision Vancouver will head into the fall municipal election with the most funding and the best chance to gain a majority on Vancouver City Council, come Saturday November 15th.
To date, in respect of COPE, former City Councilor Ellen Woodsworth has announced her intention to run for a COPE Council seat, this November. At the recent COPE AGM, former Board of Variance chair, Terry Martin, and former City Councilor, Tim Louis, announced intention to seek COPE Council nominations. COPE‘s 2008 Nominating Conference will be held at 2:30 p.m., on Sunday Sept 28, 2008, at the Ukrainian Auditorium, at 154 East 10 Ave, in Vancouver. Martin has not formally announced, thus there is no website available promoting his candidacy, while Tim Louis — who has announced — tells VanRamblings he will kick off his bid for Council in mid-to-late August
The big issue to be decided at COPE‘s nominating conference is whether the party runs a mayoral candidate against Vision’s Gregor Robertson. Should COPE decide to run a mayoral candidate — hardly a foregone conclusion — Vancouverites could very well see a majority Vision Council, and the slimy (yet photogenic) Peter Ladner in the Mayor’s chair. Not a happy prospect.

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Vancouver Sun Civic Affairs Reporter Frances Bula Resigns Her Post

BC Politics, Media, Vancouver

FRANCES BULA

Frances Bula, the Vancouver Sun civic affairs reporter since 1994, abruptly announced her resignation from the newspaper today.
Dear all of my blog-readers,
This will be my last post on this Vancouver Sun blog, as I have resigned from the paper.
As Vancouver-based blogger Rob Cottingham states in his farewell tribute to Ms. Bula today, “Her blog post makes it clear that she thoroughly understands blogging – which makes losing her voice at the Sun doubly painful.” Another Vancouver blogger, Bill Tieleman, weighs in on Ms. Bula’s departure from the Sun, on Sean Holman’s Public Eye Online, writing …

This is indeed bad news for all of us who either report on municipal politics, follow them or are active in local government.
Frances Bula has done an outstanding job for many years and amazingly maintained her sense of humour despite sitting through endless rounds of pointless Vancouver city council meetings and much more.
Good luck to Frances wherever she goes – she will have many fans who will follow.


The Pivot Legal Society’s David Eby writes on his blog, “For her to leave the Sun is, well … shocking.”
In what is shaping up to be the most important Vancouver civic election in almost a half century, Ms. Bula’s resignation from the Sun, and rumoured movement to Vancouver Magazine — with its three month advance deadline, and consequent lack of reportorial immediacy — represents the loss of a critical voice, at a critical juncture, on Vancouver’s civic scene.
Unless Ms. Bula commences with her new blog (which she promises) by early autumn, Vancouver citizens will find them far less informed on the machinations of the fall civic election than otherwise would be the case.
We are all the lesser for Ms. Bula’s departure from the daily journalistic rigours of reporting on the often tempestuous Vancouver civic scene.

Board of Variance Fired. Story Over. Not By A Long Shot.

BC Politics, Vancouver

BOARD OF VARIANCE FIRING INVESTIGATED BY BC OMBUDSMAN

Now, you’d think what with Vancouver City Council (not to mention, the Vancouver Courier’s Allen Garr) on vacation for the remainder of the summer, and Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Bauman having trampled on the hurt feelings of the recently deposed members of the City of Vancouver Board of Variance, that this ‘story that won’t die’ would be over.
But you’d be wrong. You can take the hint from the latter sentiment expressed in the previous paragraph: the Board of Variance sacking is a story that won’t die. And, why not?
Well, just when you thought to yourself, good riddance to that Ray Tomlin fella, and fair thee well to Quincey Kirschner, Terry Martin, Tony Tang and Jan Pierce, it would be too soon if I ever heard any one of their names ever again … it seems that your cherished opinion in the matter has been overturned by citizens honourable and true, an as yet unidentified band of truth and justice seekers who, when the Board was fired four weeks ago today, filed a complaint with the Office of the BC Ombudsman.
So what, you say? Well, this is what: the office of the City Clerk, City of Vancouver, informed Secretary to the Board of Variance, Louis Ng, on Thursday afternoon that the aforementioned Ombudsman’s office has launched a “full and thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of the City of Vancouver Board of Variance.” Mr. Ng was instructed to co-operate fully with the investigation.
Justice Robert Bauman ruled that Board of Variance counsel, Derek Creighton, had not proved evidence of “bad faith” by Vancouver City Council in its dismissal of the Board. But now, with a truly independent arm of government conducting an investigation into the firing, perhaps evidence of “bad faith” might finally be proven. We’ll wait and see.
Seems that the Office of the Ombudsman will issue a full report on the matter sometime later this year, or as late as next spring.
Board of Variance fired. Story over. Not by a long shot. This is the story that won’t die.

This Just In: Board of Variance Crushed by Supreme Court

BC Politics, Vancouver, VanRamblings

BOARD OF VARIANCE CRUSHED IN COURT

This morning, in Courtroom 20, in the British Columbia Supreme Court building at 800 Smithe Street, in the city of Vancouver, during the course of a 45-minute video tele-conference address, Mr. Justice Robert J. Bauman ruled decisively against the recently deposed members of Vancouver’s beleaguered Board of Variance. Okay, let’s be honest: with one devastating body blow after another, he slammed them to the ground, and crushed their cheery little faces into the dirt multiple times. But who’s counting?
Justice Bauman ruled that the decision by Vancouver City Council to rescind the appointments of all five members of the Board of Variance constituted “an institutional change,” ruling that Vancouver City Council — as the legislative authority — had the “unfettered right” to fire the Board of Variance, and were not compelled either to give reasons for their decision, nor were they to be concerned about any possible damage to the personal and professional reputations of the deposed Board of Variance members.
Tuesday afternoon at 5 p.m., Council appointed a ‘new‘ Board of Variance, made up of Alex “Sleepy” Lam, Francesca “I used to be an NDPer, but I seen the light, and now I’m a Liberal” Zumpano, Marguerite “I don’t know why some people think I’m scary” Ford, and (“what must they have been thinking, jumping into this mess?“), former 1993 – 1999 Board of Variance member Parveen Adrakar, and newcomer, Jagdev Dhillon.
The best part of this whole fiasco? VanRamblings is now free to write any (responsible) thing it wishes on this blog about Council, without fear of retribution by Mayor Sam Sullivan and cohorts. That’s the good news.
The bad news: the terrible loss that the 350 families — and all of the other members of the community who approach the Board of Variance, each year, for an appeal of the Director of Planning involving a development decision in their neighbourhood — who will almost certainly suffer an untoward experience at the hands of a Board of Variance whose determinations must surely be seen to be tainted by the recent action of Council to fire the previous Board, in a decision taken with no just and reasonable cause.
In respect of Mr. Justice Robert Bauman, and in fairness to the fulsomeness of his ruling, given the impeccable and compelling presentation of counsel for the City, Mr. George Macintosh QC, to Mr. Justice Bauman’s court, there was very little room left for Justice Bauman to rule other than he did (although, one supposes, the door would always be open to a broader interpretation of the matters placed before a Supreme Court Justice).
Mr. Justice Robert Bauman ruled as he felt he must. VanRamblings believes in the rule of law, and all those who believe in civil society must stand by the rightness of a decision of the Court, whatever the negative personal consequences one might experience as a result. That an appeal of Justice Bauman’s ruling is under consideration speaks only to points in law counsel for the Board feels may not have been fully explored.
Still and all, VanRamblings would ask: Was it absolutely necessary for Justice Robert Bauman to award costs to the City, risking bankruptcy for the good-hearted, principled volunteer members of the Board of Variance who have worked so hard and well, and so ethically, this past year?