Take a look at the names of the woman candidates endorsed by VanRamblings today, who represent less than a third of the woman candidates who are seeking office at City Hall as elected Vancouver City Councillors in the 2018 Vancouver civic election.
There are easily another eight women running for City Council who we know, or who we’ve met on the campaign trail we could recommend: independents like the serious-minded, engaged and absolutely delightful (am I allowed to say that?) Elke Porter; or the accomplished, we’ll hear from her again in the future, Elishia Perosa; and the NPA’s Rebecca Bligh — who just knocks our socks off … the list above was composed before we knew Ms. Bligh, otherwise we assure you that her name would be among the endorsed candidates you see at the top of today’s column.
Or, how about Vision Vancouver’s entirely superior candidate for Council, Tanya Paz, who has been a ball of energy, bright, articulate, accomplished, funny and ‘don’t mess with me’ tough (VanRamblings likes that!) on the campaign trail, or the NPA’s current must-have on Vancouver School Board trustee (who has chosen to run for Council), Lisa Dominato, scary smart and possessed of an infectious smile and a mother’s love for our city; or founding Yes Vancouver Board member Stephanie Ostler, impressive at the Women’s Forum, as was the case with Vancouver 1st’s Michelle Mollineaux (even if she is running with the wrong party), and among our very, very favourite independents in 2018, educator and environmentalist activist Françoise Raunet, a teacher at the school VanRamblings’ grandsons attend.
VanRamblings is of the firm belief that men have screwed it up so badly that the only way out of our current societal morass is to ensure we elect an all woman slate of candidates of conscience at Vancouver City Council, to lead us forward over the course of the next four years.
If Oskaloosa, Kansas could elect Carrie Johnson, Sadie Balsley, Emma Hamilton, Hannah Morse, Mittie Golden, and Mary Loman as their Mayor in the fall of 1888, and if Kanab, Utah could do same thing in 1912, don’t you think it’s way past time for the Vancouver voters to do the same thing?
We in Vancouver are only somewhere between one hundred six and one hundred thirty years late on the activist, change-making, ‘ they know what they’re doing, we darn well better elect ’em’ feminist city councillor front.
From left: Elizabeth Mackay, Jean Lynch, Mayor Adelene Jones, Summer Daugherty & Bobbi Ricca, Blue Lake City Council, Humboldt County, California. Photo credit Robin Abcarian, LA Times
Nestled between redwood ridges on the Mad River, everywhere in Blue Lake, a tiny Humboldt County town, people had the same reaction when told theirs is the only all-female city council California.
“Woo-hoo,” says Lynne Owens, office manager of Blue Lake’s Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. “Hey, that’s great,” says Dell’Arte’s founding artistic director, Joan Schirle.
“I am ecstatic to have an all-woman council in this time and age,” said Blue Lake Councilwoman Summer Daugherty, a project coordinator for the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District, which, among other things, helps dairies stay on the right side of environmental regulations. Last year, Daugherty was elected to a four-year council term, her first. “We’re excited and motivated.”
Yes, in Blue Lake, California, five women comprise the entirety of the Humboldt County City Council.
Seems that, prior to the 2016 civic election, the Blue Lake police chief was charged with eight felonies, including possessing a machine gun and silencer, and drugging his wife for sex. The scandal laid the town low. Who do men and women turn to when there’s a mess to be cleaned up?
Yep, women of integrity, toughness and smarts.
Have you noticed that we in Vancouver are in the midst of an affordable housing crisis? Maybe, just maybe — and probably so — electing an all woman Council might very well go a long ways towards cleaning up our current series of messes that are plaguing civic governance in our city.
How is it that not only have we failed to either nominate or elect a representative selection of female candidates for office, at all three levels of of our civic governance in Vancouver, we’re also one of the only cities on the continent to never have elected a woman Mayor (Go, Shauna, Go!)?
In 2011, there were only 13 women candidates running for Council. In 2014, there were 17 woman candidates for Council. In 2018? Thirty-three accomplished women are seeking office in order to sit at the Council table at City Hall to make the decisions which affect us all.
Do you see the photo above? Those are the steps leading to the north side entrance of Vancouver City Hall.
VanRamblings would like to see citizens climb those steps on a Tuesday morning, head up to the third floor of City Hall — you can walk or take the elevator, it’s up to you — and as you take your seat in Council chambers (a smaller room than it appears on TV), we want you to look up & see Mayor Shauna Sylvester presiding over a meeting of Vancouver City Council.
You’ll see Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung’s back just off to your left on the other side of the press table (you can say hello to Mike Howell, Frances Bula, Dan Fumano and Jen St. Denis), with Councillor Sarah Blyth sitting between Councillor Kirby-Yung and Councillor Christine Boyle to her left, and to Councillor Boyle’s left, Councillor Catherine Evans, the elected of all she surveys, and Councillor Anne Roberts on the far left, which would seem to be the appropriate seating for our newly-elected COPE City Councillor.
Across the way from these fine elected Councillors, and looking to the “other” side, Councillor Melissa De Genova will appear on your right (but just nominally so), and to her right the remaining City Councillors, her friend Councillor Erin Shum, who this day has brought her daughter to work with her (although she’ll give her daughter to her husband, Gavin, in fairly short order), Heather Deal, Council’s eminence gris, the beloved Adriane Carr, and sitting farthest from you and closest to the Mayor and to the Mayor’s left, which again seems appropriate seating, Councillor Jean Swanson.
Advance voting locations, today thru October 17th, 8am til 8pm …
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Vancouver City Hall, 453 W 12th Avenue
- Roundhouse Arts & Rec Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews
- Britannia Community Services Centre, 1661 Napier Street
- Hastings Community Centre, 3096 East Hastings Street
- Renfrew Park Community Centre, 2929 East 22nd Avenue
- Killarney Community Centre, 6260 Killarney Street
- Trout Lake Community Centre, 3360 Victoria Drive
- Sunset Community Centre, 6810 Main Street
- Marpole | Oakridge Community Centre, 990 West 59th Avenue
- Kerrisdale Community Centre, 5851 West Boulevard
- Kitsilano War Memorial Community Centre, 2690 Larch Street
- West End Community Centre, 870 Denman Street
Full VanRamblings election coverage is available here.
Tomorrow, VanRamblings will return with our “progressive” Council endorsements, and a printable or sendable endorsement graphic for all three levels of Vancouver civic government.
