29 July 1999

A Civic Decision - THE COMMENTARY

By Joseph Planta

When Vancouverites head to the polls in November, they’ll have to decide whether or not they want the NPA in power. In the last election back in 1996, all 10 of City Council’s Councilors were affiliated with the Non Partisan Association handing COPE a very noticeable rejection. For the unknowing, the NPA have generally been the right-wing party in civic politics and COPE, which stands for Coalition of Progressive Electors, has been the left-wing group. To add to the NPA sweep, Vancouverites also re-elected Philip Owen to the mayor’s seat. In 1996, Owen ran against Carmela Allevato who represented COPE. She did dismally and thus robbed Vancouverites the opportunity for left-wing representation on City Council.

Come this November, it looks like the NPA could get swept back into power. COPE doesn’t have its act together and they’ll really suffer if they don’t work now. The problem with sweeps in political races is that a whole portion of the population who supported the ‘other guys’ loose a say in the goings-on and thus handing democracy a setback. We’ve had almost 6 years of complete NPA domination at the corner of 12th and Cambie and that’s not fair. COPE needs good and well-know candidates. People who can do the job, people who can get elected, but really there aren’t any left. Former COPE Councilor and Owen’s opponent in the 1993 Civic elections, Libby Davies, has gone and represented Vancouver-East in the Commons. The two last COPE councilors have left civic politics altogether, Jenny Kwan is now the Minister of Women’s Equality in Victoria and the other lady has since retired. The left-wing has gotten shut out altogether.

Recently, COPE and The Green Party have decided to field candidates together, thus not spliting the vote. Mayor Owen laughed at the notion saying, “What’ll they name the thing, GROPE?” GROPE or COPE, voters have to first and foremost get out and vote. The 1996 civic elections brought out a meager 22% of the entire population. That figure is sickening and embarrassing. One other qualm I have with the whole civic political structure is that, they go by a first-past-the-post ballot. That’s where a number of councilors run and the voter is asked to choose any ten, the highest 10 thus are elected. Many have called for a ward system, where it would see the city divided into ridings, but all attempts for that have failed in referendum. What has to change is the amount of bozo’s that run for mayor. Last time around there were about 60 to 70 candidates for mayor. The NPA candidate, the COPE and Green Party, as well as freaks like The Trash Collector, BOZO the Clown, The Captain etc.... Those were the names on the ballot. They who run, just because they can, are making a mockery of democracy, as well as splitting the vote further. That’s why we get the NPA elected election after election. We need good people to run and we need them now. The City of Vancouver needs them and more importantly democracy needs them now.

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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .