Saturday, November 16, 2002
Vote early, vote often - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER – Today is election day in the City of Vancouver. Being a Vancouverite, I focus on the local election in this city, because that's where I live. Across the province, there are votes taking place also. But today's piece is on Vancouver, where I did trek out to an advance poll earlier this week to do my civic duty.
The civic poll I had to go to earlier this week was the one up at City Hall. I don't want to discourage or malign the dedicated workers at the poll, but there definitely was one working the advance poll who was so ignorant, it hurt my feelings. The line to get a ballot was rather long. Surprisingly long for an advance poll, as this year seems an exciting race. Anyways, with the lengthy line, there was some woman floating through – an election worker – showing a sample ballot to us in the line, explaining the procedure to us. Well, in wheels one Sam Sullivan (who, I've bumped into at least three times in a week) who is naturally there to vote too. Minding his own business, behind me and some other people, he's approached by the ambitious poll clerk who proceeds to give the spiel explaining procedure to the incumbent City Councillor. For God's sake his name's on the ballot, and he probably helped draft the damned thing, and here's this goober treating him like he's from Whoville! Excuse me, as I get that off my chest.
Suffice to say we all got our ballots and the good councillor himself (who I voted for) was actually sitting in front of me, as we headed to vote. (I wonder who he voted for?) In a previous piece, I spelled out whom I voted for. That was a Council list, and I'll do the same here, adding why I picked who I did:
Fred Bass, COPE. I picked Dr. Bass, because he reminds me a lot of my own doctor, Dr. Sunshine. Really, I picked him because he's a good Councillor who has done admirable work in stopping smoking, and who with Tim Louis, has done their best labouring under less than pleasant conditions with the overwhelming NPA majority. (Dr. Bass actually approached me last week, as he was main streeting, and I was immediately struck by his self-effacing nature, and general candour.)
David Cadman, COPE. Cadman, ran for mayor last time, but was trounced by Philip Owen. Since the 1999 election, he's been doing lobbying for the outfit, SPEC, an environmental organisation. He would be a terrific addition to Council, as he seems suited to Council rather than the mayor's chair.
Vern Campbell, NPA. Campbell went out a while back decrying the Four Pillars agreement, expressing much of the same reservations I've had over harm reduction etc. I think being one of the only people willing to challenge the status quo, makes him an interesting addition to Council.
Nancy Chiavario, vcaTEAM. I liked Chiavario when she was on Council a few years ago. She was willing to be progressive, whilst her NPA colleagues were so married to the status quo. She's part of this new outfit, which is a good addition to the political climate here, thus with her election to Council vcaTEAM could stick around till the next vote.
Connie Fogal-Rankin, Green. Mrs. Rankin would be a well-endowed shit disturber on Council, much like her late husband. Besides that, she's full of interesting ideas, and she'd do good work on Council. Plus, let's see what these Green's could really do with elected office.
Tim Louis, COPE. In the last Council, Louis was the best entertainment value. He'd always love to goad Jennifer Clarke and George Puil, and he'd do a good job at it. Beyond that, he's a good debater, always willing to raise the level of debate, interjecting with good ideas and well-thought out arguments.
George Puil, NPA. My parents are simply disappointed in my voting for ‘King George', but I do owe it to him, because years back he helped me out on a project. Other than that, with 26 years on Council, he knows his stuff and irrespective of opinion and ideals, he'd be a good presence to have on Council. Plus, with the NPA sinking, he could certainly help keep it afloat until the next election.
Anne Roberts, COPE. Roberts, gave me my first try at doing newspaper writing, over a decade ago. She doesn't remember, as we keep bumping into each other at Langara, where she's the Journalism Department Chair, and she doesn't know me from Adam. Her work in advocating for my neighbourhood, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, I've long admired, and she could do much good work for the rest of the city. (I had applied to the Journalism Department for admittance this fall, and though I turned them down to go elsewhere, I regret not having the opportunity to have worked with her and the rest of that outfit.)
Stephen Rogers, vcaTEAM. Rogers was a former cabinet minister for the premiers Bill Bennett and Bill Vander Zalm. He's the heir to the Rogers Sugar fortune and a former airline pilot. I think his experience provincially would benefit the City Council greatly. It would also be interesting to see how he copes with a neo-conservative administration in Victoria.
Sam Sullivan, NPA. How could I not vote for a guy who has accused me of stalking him? I actually think Sullivan's a progressive guy even though he's part of the NPA. I think he's a good bridge between the two main parties and he's worked very hard.
So who didn't I vote for, and would have, had I more spaces to fill? Well, I regret not being able to vote for vacTEAM's Lou Demerais, who could be the first Native on City Council. We need that diversity and perhaps that's one of the ails of the at-large system. Also, had I another space, I'd tap Duncan Wilson. He's said he's willing to look at the issue of wards, which I actually oppose, but I think is worth investigating. Plus, the NPA would be well served with having this long-time Parks Board member in the big chamber.
For Mayor, which took me a long time to decide, I voted for Larry Campbell. I hate to think I was trying to join the masses that seemingly support the COPE candidate. But really, I think this city needs a new vision. The NPA has gotten too tired and too staid. It needs to reevaluate, and time away from the throes of power will certainly help them. Though I do like the NPA. They're careful and that's always necessary in such a politically polarised place like Vancouver. But I did bubble in next to Campbell's name, and should I ever come to regret it, I'll pick someone else three years from now.
For Parks Board I tapped: Helen Boyce, an independent; Allan DeGenova, NPA; Laura McDiarmid, NPA; Lyndsay Poaps, COPE; Eva Riccius, COPE; Anita Romaniuk, COPE; and Loretta Woodcock, COPE.
You need to have left-wingers on Parks Board. They're the only ones around willing to protect some of the precious little green space left in this city. Plus, with the NPA sweeping so often, they'd need all the help they could get.
And for School Board, my choices were: Allan Blakey, COPE; Bill Brown, NPA; Ken Denike, NPA; Noel Herron, COPE; Ted Hunt, NPA; Angela Kenyon, COPE; Adrienne Montani, COPE; Andrea Reimer, Green; and Kevin Millsip, COPE.
COPE seems to weigh heavily on my slates. Even though I think of myself to the right on most issues, I picked COPE candidates because they seem the most adept in presenting a progressive vision for the city. The NPA doesn't even have a platform for this election. For School Board, you see a majority of COPE members, and my only rationale is that there needs to be a strong voice around to oppose the government in Victoria. The NPA dominated School Board during the NDP's time, and there was good and vigorous debate.
Whatever the case, do get out and vote. It's your civic duty, and you won't have nearly a good enough reason to complain, if you didn't actually mark a ballot.
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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .