This past weekend, a candidate for election to Vancouver City Council wrote to VanRamblings to enquire as to whether we’d be endorsing him/her?
We responded briefly, promising a more expansive reply at a later date. As is often the case with VanRamblings, the candidate enquiry has served to generate a column — a positive column (the kind we prefer to write) — amidst all the toxicity and shenanigans of the consequential 2022 Vancouver civic election.
Truth to tell, VanRamblings has many friends — about whom we care deeply — seeking to be elected to office on the evening of Saturday, October 15th.
Today, then, who VanRamblings would love to endorse, the very bright candidates of stature and integrity, the well-schooled and mature community activist candidates who would be difference makers for the better were they to be chosen by the voting public to sit around the Vancouver City Council “table” on the third floor of Vancouver City Hall, over the course of the next four years.
Clockwise: ABC candidates for office, Mike Klassen, Sarah Kirby-Yung, Lisa Dominato and Rebecca Bligh
First up, VanRamblings’ very good friend of some 30 years now, Mike Klassen, long VanRamblings’ cherished webmaster — and in recent years a respected civic affairs columnist for the much-missed Vancouver Courier community newspaper. Michael (we call him Michael) is running with fellow ABC candidates Sarah Kirby-Yung — who, as we’ve written many times in the past, we believe to be a political superstar in our province — as well as newly-minted ABC candidates, Councillors Rebecca Bligh and Lisa Dominato, both of whom are seeking a second term on Council. Despite the hyperbolic VanRamblings’ rantings concerning the ABC campaign for civic office, we believe these four outstanding ABC candidates for Vancouver City Council mean much good for our city, and in a better, fairer and less partisan world, we’d endorse all four of these superb candidates in a New York minute.
As for those who’ve been wondering what’s up with what we’ve been writing about ABC campaign head honcho and funder, Peter Armstrong — VanRamblings possesses deep caring and affection for Peter (not a popular position in these too partisan times), and always will, despite what we’ve been writing about the Rocky Mountaineer railroader, or will write in future days.
Clockwise: NPA candidates Melissa De Genova, Ken Charko, Arezo Zarrabian and Cinnamon Bhayani
Truth to tell, VanRamblings has long respected and admired Vancouver City Councillor Melissa De Genova, dating back to the days when she was first elected to Vancouver Park Board, in 2011. Melissa is far more progressive than she’s given credit for — and apart from those on the left who snipe at her (when that occurs, Melissa gives as good, or better, than she gets). Not for no reason did Melissa De Genova come in a solid third place in the 2018 Vancouver civic election. Then, there’s Ken Charko, who VanRamblings has known and liked since 1996, when he first purchased the lease for The Dunbar Theatre. Hardly a day has gone by this election season when Ken hasn’t given us a call at home — heck, we signed his nomination papers this past weekend! Cinammon Bhayani knocked our socks off when we met her at the NPA’s campaign launch at the Italian Cultural Centre. And, Arezo Zarrabian has emerged as one of our favourite candidates in #vanelxn2022 — we can’t wait for you to meet her on the campaign trail at an all-candidates meeting. Believe us when we write that you’re going to come away from meeting Arezo Zarrabian mightily impressed, and ready to cast a ballot for her at the advance polls that’ll occur early next month, or on election day, Saturday, October 15th.
Clockwise: TEAM’s Sean Nardi, Cleta Brown, Grace Quan, Stephen Roberts, Bill Tieleman & Param Nijjar
Over the course of the past couple of months, VanRamblings has gotten to know all six of the mature, capable and ready to govern TEAM … for a Livable Vancouver candidates for Vancouver City Council. Sean Nardi — with his recent MBA from Simon Fraser University and his years of community activism, has emerged for us as one of this election cycle’s star candidates, and a must-elect to Vancouver City Council, next month.
VanRamblings has long respected and admired Bill Tieleman, and has stuck by him through thick and thin, as he has for us during our various travails over the years — talk about a star TEAM candidate for Vancouver City Council, that’d be our friend and neighbour, Bill Tieleman. Stephen Roberts, with his sly grin, suggests he knows something we don’t — VanRamblings figures that, given Stephen’s finance background, is how to resolve the inflationary budget mess at Vancouver City Hall, preserving and expanding core services to Vancouver’s beleaguered citizenry, while reining in non-essential spending.
Cleta Brown is another TEAM … for a Livable Vancouver star candidate, and another must-elect to Vancouver City Council just a bit more than four weeks from now. Grace Quan is the energizer bunny of the 2022 campaign to gain a seat at City Hall, sequestered within Council chambers, and ready to govern on behalf of all Vancouver’s diverse citizenry who call Grandview-Woodland, Fairview, Riley Park-Little Mountain, the West End, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Kerrisdale, Marpole, Strathcona / Chinatown and the DTES — and each and every one of us who live in one of Vancouver’s 23 neighbourhoods — home. Param Nijjar is another standout, serious-minded TEAM candidate for Vancouver City Council, who impressed our socks off in his expansive interview with The Georgia Straight’s Carlito Pablo.
Adriane Carr, the doyenne of Vancouver civic politics, and 11-year member of Vancouver City Council
Last Thursday, when we wrote about the Green Party of Vancouver campaign launch, and enthused about Councillors Pete Fry and Michael Wiebe, and new and impressive Green Party candidates for office, Stephanie Smith and Devyani Singh, we somehow overlooked acknowledging Vancouver City Council’s longest serving and most able Councillor, VanRamblings’ much-admired Adriane Carr. For VanRamblings, it is unthinkable that Adriane Carr would not be re-elected to Council for a fourth productive term in office. More than any other Councillor in our memory, Adriane Carr has had a more profound impact in shaping who we are — as we believe is the case with many among us — in demanding always that we be better, holding us to account when we’ve been less than our best self, and causing us to be more humane, and … if we might suggest such, wise. VanRamblings’ affection and deep, deep respect and admiration for Adriane Carr knows no bounds.
Clockwise: Dulcy Anderson, Breen Ouellette, Jean Swanson, Sean Orr, Morgane Oger, and Lesli Boldt
One of VanRamblings’ very favourite candidates in 2022 is Dulcy Anderson, who is running with Mayor Kennedy Stewart’s Forward Together civic party. VanRamblings has gotten to know Dulcy over the years, in her capacity as Vancouver Point Grey MLA David Eby’s very able senior constituency assistant. Colour us mightily impressed. Dulcy Anderson on Vancouver City Council — let’s make it happen! Sean Orr, who is Vancouver’s standout Vote Socialist difference maker candidate in the 2022 Vancouver municipal election is another one of VanRamblings’ favourites — rent control and demoviction legislation, free transit (c’mon, it happens elsewhere), electoral reform, and a focus on arts, music and culture, Sean Orr is who you’re gonna want to cast a vote for in #vanelxn2022.
COPE’s Breen Ouellette and Jean Swanson are two more must-elects. We came to know Breen during his run for Parliament, as the NDP candidate in the 2021 federal election, to represent the riding of Vancouver Centre. Knowledgeable about city governance? — your darn tootin’ he is. A lawyer, a dad and committed to working with senior levels of government to end the egregious homelessness crisis that has for too long plagued our community, then Breen Ouellette is your guy — a man you should definitely set aside a vote for when casting your ballot in the 2022 Vancouver civic election. VanRamblings has long admired Vision Vancouver candidate for City Council, Lesli Boldt, for her work as an environmental activist, and her outstanding work with Boldt Communications Inc., a Vancouver-based communications firm she founded in 2001, for her great work as a podcaster, and for her tough, no nonsense approach to life. If there’s one “takes no guff” candidate in the 2022 Vancouver municipal election, that would be Lesli Boldt.
The fact of the matter is, with 10 spots to be filled on Vancouver City Council, with 60 candidates for Vancouver City Council seeking office, and 21 superb candidates VanRamblings has identified above — who we believe would be the difference makers on Council — candidates that we’re all but endorsing. Given all of that, here’s what we’ve decided to do: as was the case in 2018, VanRamblings will publish three Vancouver City Council endorsement lists.
Towards the end of the week of October 3rd, VanRamblings will publish a ballot endorsing 10 women, or women identifying, candidates for City Council. The next day, we will publish a “druthers” endorsement list: if VanRamblings could choose those candidates we feel would make the most difference for our city going forward, candidates of intellect, élan and no little knowledge of civic politics and policy administration, the ballot VanRamblings will publish that second day will represent who we would druther, all things being equal, see elected to Council, were it not the most consequential election in 50 years.
In the final week before Election Day, Saturday, October 15th, on Wednesday, October 12th, VanRamblings will publish our official endorsement list of candidates for Vancouver City Council who are seeking office as Councillors in 2022.
