With a war chest said to be in the range of $6 million, going up against Vision Vancouver is certain to be a risky venture this autumn. Still, almost a dozen political parties will dedicate their full-time energies and monetary resources to defeating the most arrogant, tone-deaf and anti-democratic civic administration since the days of brass-knuckle NPA Mayor Tom Campbell, one of the most polarizing figures in Vancouver municipal history.
VanRamblings looks forward to continuing our coverage of Vancouver’s civic scene in the lead-up to the November 15th municipal election.
Commencing next week, though — given that it’s summer, and somewhat of a laid back time — VanRamblings will cut back on our coverage of the civic political scene, posting only two or three times a week — although on the remaining days of the week we may supplement our political coverage with columns on the topics VanRamblings has traditionally covered, which is to say, the arts/cinema, web & tech, and other topics that catch our fancy.
Word emerging from inside the NPA camp has one, or more, members of the party’s Council slate “reconsidering” their candidacy, as putative Non-Partisan Association mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe continues his, now, weeks’ long vetting of the prospective NPA slate of candidates who will seek office this autumn in Vancouver 47th municipal election.
Apparently, La Pointe wants a more culturally diverse slate than the NPA had originally identified — there’s also some indication that he wants more women, and more younger folks, on the Council, Park Board and School Board slates. All of this well-intended dithering has caused some grousing about LaPointe’s own candidacy among a coterie of NPA folks, who (many of them) were none-too-thrilled with Mr. LaPointe’s ascension as the New Progressive Association mayoralty candidate, when it was set to be announced, as early as the beginning of May, only a couple of months ago.
All of this grousing and dithering has reportedly resulted in a renewed draft Carole Taylor movement. The prospect of a Carole Taylor candidacy was not looked upon favourably by her as little as two months ago, but apparently the accomplished Ms. Taylor has had a change of heart and is now giving serious consideration to entering the 2014 Vancouver municipal race as an Independent, and one would have to think, winning candidate for Mayor.
Meanwhile, extensive internal polling conducted by Stratcom, for Vision Vancouver, and Dimitri Pantazopoulos, for the NPA, has Kirk LaPointe running neck-and-neck with sitting Mayor Gregor Robertson, with an even odds chance of sending juice boy back for a long, long, long stay at Cortes Island’s warming and welcoming Hollyhock Centre for the truly misguided.
Now we have the prospect of not only a Carole Taylor independent mayoral candidacy, but according to The Straight’s Carlito Pablo, Hadden Park / Yaletown Residents lawyer, the talented and very bright Bob Kasting, is also considering a run for the Mayor’s chair this autumn electoral season.
Word from within The Electors’ Action Movement, and from some associated with Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver suggest that there’s support for a Bob Kasting mayoralty run — there’s even speculation that the Green Party of Vancouver (or, at least some of its candidates) could support A Better City’s Bob Kasting for a mayoral civic election run.
Potential mayoral hopefuls Carole Taylor, Gregor Robertson, Bob Kasting, and Kirk LaPointe
The fact that Kirk LaPointe, Carole Taylor, Bob Kasting and, we hear, retired provincial court judge Carol Baird Ellan (who was considering at one time, and may still be a serious COPE candidate for Mayor) may enter the race, suggests there’s significant dissatisfaction with the direction that Gregor Robertson and his overly developer-friendly Vision Vancouver “we roll over you, because we don’t give a damn about you, and we know what’s best for you, anyway” colleagues have taken our city these past six years.
Here it is, the beginning of July — these are early days in the 2014 Vancouver civic election campaign. That there’s some jostling about going on, a clarifying of candidacies, and political machinations in aid of ensuring that Gregor Robertson and Vision Vancouver will be defeated this autumn is, for VanRamblings, just fine. VanRamblings is heartened that serious electoral campaigns of purpose, from all of the opposition parties and candidates who will place their names before the voting public this autumn, in order that we might all be rescued from one of the most dishonest civic administrations in Vancouver history — well, as we say, that’s fine by us.
