Vancouver Votes. Again.

Forget Bird Flu, BC has got a case of election fever, and not the good kind of fever like Stanley Cup Fever, or Spring Fever. Having just voted Federally, Provincially and next week Municipally, we're now being told to prepare for a Christmas federal election. Worried about voter turnout? Hows about voter burnout.

I don't know if I'm qualified to give any endorsements for Vancouver's upcoming civic elections. Then again, I DID run in the provinical election, and I AM a journalist, sorry, BLOGGER. Truth is, I'm a little bored with this election and it seems that the results of Surrey's mayoral race holds more sway for Vancouverites than our own! Three Years ago however, that certainly wasn't the case. I was stoked on local civic politics. I was at the Woodsquat every day, and I lived in a recovery house just up the street. Subsequently COPE swept to power with Woodwards and social housing as its central platform. It is no doubt that, three years later, this election has more to do with the division between COPE and breakaway party Vision Vancouver, and weather or not they have lost the momentum gained three years ago at Woodwards.

Dadabase, Main and Broadway

Barbara McClintock of the Tyee writes eloquently "as a general rule, municipal election campaigns all sound the same. A computer program with well-written, drop-down menus could probably produce 90 percent of the speeches that will be given at all-candidates meetings across British Columbia this month." It's true. Everything that NPA candidate Sam Sullivan says sounds ideal, but you have to look at what he has done in his twelve years on council. Popular outgoing mayor Larry Campbell asks the very same question in the Vancouver Sun, "If anybody can tell me one thing in city council over the last 12 years that Sam Sullivan has initiated, I'd be very interested." He goes on to accuse Sullivan of being unfit to run the police as he was caught supplying drugs to an addict out of the back of his van.

That certainly makes this election a bit spicier. Enter past mayor Phillip Owen into the fray, who blasts back, calling Green a "politcal freeloader" and things begin to heat up. But besides the usual campaign rhetoric, there is more at stake than flashy politics and news-worthy soundbites. Murray Dobbin links the outcome of this vote to the defeat of neo-liberal ideals and a "turning point away from right-wing, corporate politics and back to politics that values community." Right wing? I thought the NPA was the Non-Partisan Association, he said gullably. Not so, says Bill Tieleman at 24hours. "Sullivan's back room is stacked with people who have worked for Harper and former Tory leaders Stockwell Day, Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell"

Dobbin continues to forge the link between big business and Sam Sullivan. "The NPA's campaign communications is being managed by Wayne Hartrick, the President of Wal-Mart's slick public relations firm, Reputations Corporation. The NPA has promised to reverse City Council's decision to reject Wal-Mart's application to build a store in Vancouver. That's corruption of democracy pure and simple and a sign of what we can expect if Sullivan and the NPA win on Saturday. They plan to turn back the clock on every progressive advance the city has made in the past three years. There are a few days left to work in this election to make sure the unthinkable doesn't happen."

There is also debate on whether the NPA would scrap the popular four pillar program that former NPA mayor Phillip Owen himself championed? Mike Howell of the Courier says it depends on your translator! "'This [the Four Pillars plan] is an experiment, and it's not working. So we should scrap it,' is the quote COPE attributed to Lee, an NPA city councillor from 1996 to 2002." Lee claims that he was misunderstood.

And what about the recent Burrard Bridge bike lanes? It seems Yosemite Sam wants to shoot that one down as well. The West End Resident's Association wrote a letter warning that voters "should be taking a long hard look at Mr. Sullivan's stand on this issue" and pointed out that even one of his own councilors had voted to designate bike lanes on the bridge.

So is it simply the case that progressive voters aren't as angry this year as they were three years ago? Is the split within COPE indicative of typical left-wing bickering? What happened to the whole No Fun City debate? And with a new centrist party emerging from within COPE, Vision Vancouver, how are we supposed to maximize our progressive vote? Is this the year of independents, what with Kevin Potvin, Wendy13, and Jamie Lee Hamilton on the card? What about the Green Party? What side is the media on? Well don't worry, I've got you covered.

Mayor: Jim Green. JIM not James. J-I-M. Because he supports the arts and once led a protest against Expo. Yeah, he voted for the Olympics and slots, but I'm not endorsing Sam Walton, er sorry, Sam Sullivan. He really is the only choice. He worked for years in the downtown eastside and I believe him when he says it's a priority. They dealt with Woodwards like they promised and it has only been three years. Let's give him another three to work with.

10 Councillors:
COPE is running 5, and Vision is running 5. Hmmmm...This might be where the split between COPE and Vision gets gangrene. Tim Stevenson lost to Lorne Mayencourt for fuck's sake. And George Chow looks like he was plucked from a list of failed NPA candidates.

1. Fred Bass- COPE. Fred opposed the RAV line. Dr. Bass Kicks ass.
2. David Cadman- COPE. He has a medal from the UN.
3. Tim Louis- COPE. Dude is at every single protest. He is crazy. He'd protest his own election if it was the socially conscious thing to do.
4. Anne Roberts- COPE. Voted for pedestrian safety, more buses and lower fares, social housing, sustainable development, libraries, ethical purchasing, and respectful labour relations. Nuff said.
5. Ellen Woodsworth- COPE. Just vote for her, okay?
6. Ann Livingston- Green. You may remember her from Fix: The Story of An Addicted City where she was "organizing people who use drugs to bring their voices to bureaucrats and agencies" via VANDU. She also co-founded Pivot Legal Society.
7. Kevin Potvin- Independent. Fiercely independent, he is the editor of The Republic and founder of Magpie Magazine Gallery.
8. Heather Harrison- Vision. She only gets my vote because she didn't vote for the RAV line, Olympics, or slots. What's that? She wasn't on council?
9. Heather Deal- Vision. She is near the top of the card alphabetically. Sorry Stevenson, you got a raw DEAL.
10. No Endorsement That's right. It's a total toss-up. Raymond Louie is pro-police, pro-Olympics, and pro-RAV, he might as well be NPA. Then there is Peter Ladner, an NPA incumbent who votes like a COPEster! Phyllis Loke works for Libby Davies, champion of all things progressive. And what about Wendy Thirteen? I'm sure she'd provide a much needed jolt to the stuffy suits at City Hall. Or hows about Patrick Britten of the Nude Garden Party? Vote for him if you can understand this: "Bbbaby bboomer, general factotum, 60's traveller/beatnik, UK, Europe, North Africa, Middle East. Congenital student, congenial epistleriate, amiable amateur agent provocateur failed nude revolutionary, comprehensive anticipatory design scientist". Or at least let me know what it means.

7 Parks Commissioners
COPE is running 6, and Vision isn't running any, but the Green Party is running two. That equals 8, and you only get 7 votes. I'm having a whale of a time deciding.
1. Stuart MacKinnon- Green Party. Stuart is Ace. I've met him a couple of times and he is a real swell guy. If there is anywhere you want a Green Party representative its the Parks Board.
2. Tracey Jastinder Mann- Green Party. See above. Just replace all male pronouns with female ones, and the name Stuart with Tracey. Thanks.
3. Spencer Herbert- COPE. He's cute. That's reason enough. But he also did some stuff with B.E.S.T., the BCCLU, and the Sierra Club.
4. Omar Kassis- COPE. "Omar teaches at Cedar Walk, a newly-created alternative school for First Nations students run by the Urban Native Youth Association. He serves on the board of Aunt Leah's Society; providing services to youth at risk. He's also a board member and organizer for the Creative Peace Network, which hosts peace camps for Israeli and Palestinian teens." Wow.
5. Mel Lehan- COPE. Mel was the sacrificial lamb sent by the NDP to take on Slash Gordon in his Point Grey riding. He did all right too, garnering 37% despite a strong showing from Damien Kettlwell at 15%. Gordo got in with 41%. I'm backing Mel 100%.
6. Loretta Woodcok- COPE. She's an incumbent, which can work for her or against her. Whereas the Coalition for No Whales In Captivity would say she failed to deliver a referendum on the subject, she would say that it is futile because the Aquarium has a lease in Stanley Park until 2015.
7. Jenn McGinn-COPE. Basically I chose her because I've just heard bad things about Anita Romaniuk. She failed to take a stand on highway expansion, and generally flip flopped like an Orca in captivity. Oh SNAP!

9 School Trustees
Okay this one is real easy. Just remember to vote for Andrea Reimer and everything will be okay. She is awesome. She rallied to get junk food out, corporate advertising, and toxins of schools. Then vote COPE all the way through. Easy.
1. Andrea Reimer- Green Party
2-9. Allen Blakey, Jane Bouey, Sharon Gregson, Noel Herron, Angela Kenyon, Conrad Lew, Kevin Millsip, Allan Wong. -COPE

All clear?

If not, Get your ass over to "Get Yours," and all candidates debate presented by Get Your Vote On and the World Urban Cafe.

Wed. November 16 @7:00 PM Lamplighter (210 Abbott)
featuring live performances by:
Ghettoblaster, The Kitchen and DJ BuzyB
free before 9pm, $5 after 9pm
Debate starts at 7pm
Free iPOD Giveaway!!!