Stamp of Conditional Approval

As the masthead on this page indicates, Saturday is election day in Vancouver. I have been mulling over endorsements, and to be honest, haven't been all that motivated. This will be the third civic election for this page in Vancouver, having previously lived in Calgary. Many readers view the City of Calgary as a little more than a right-wing backwater laced with fossil fuels, testosterone and bullsh*t, and the spiritual home of the Conservative Party of Canada. However, having lived for almost a decade in both Calgary and Vancouver, this page can declare with certainty when it comes to having actual democracy in civic politics, Cowtown crushes Terminal City.

Calgary figured out a long time ago how to use a Ward system, whereas Vancouver uses the retrograde At-Large approach to civic elections. In a Ward system, the power resides in neighbourhood and community organizations to put an Alderman into City Hall, not a secretive cabal like the so-called 'Non-Partisan Association'. When I lived in Calgary's Ward 7 and I had an issue, I knew the person to talk to would be Alderman Bev Longstaff. She may have been a moderate Tory, but because she was elected as an independent her first priority was her constituents, not like how NPA City Councillors have to the line of their party, the B.C. Liberals and the Federal Tories.

People have approached this page in the last week asking me who to vote for, and unlike Provincial or Federal elections, that's a tough question given the mismatches and mishmashes of a manipulative and overfinanced party system in Vancouver. I don't like being told to vote for slates where Socialists in the Coalition of Progressive Electors are listed with Federal Liberals - one voter's progressive is another voter's patronizing. Unfortunately, this is not about what I like or don't like, because the alternative is the NPA, which does not mean 'Non-Partisan Association'. It mean 'Nasty, Petulant, and Arrogant' or 'No Poor Allowed'. It's time to flush these bastards once and for all: Peter Ladner claims that Vancouverites don't have the right to know the details of the Olympic Village bailout, and has told debate audiences that there's nothing really that important to do after he claims the big chair at 12th and Cambie. We don't need that kind of Mayor, and we don't need myopic cheerleaders like Kim Capri on Council backing him up either.

I'm not completely happy with the list of candidates that's been distributed by the Vancouver & District Labour Council and Vancouver's New Democrat MLA's. Some were key players in the rift among the COPE-dominated City Council during Larry Campbell's term as Mayor which led to the creation of Vision Vancouver. Some seemed to be biding their time on Council until Lorne Mayencourt could steal another Provincial election from them. Some have an unsettling gun fetish. However, votes for independent candidates or the Work Less Party will make it that much easier for the NPA, who are encouraging their affluent and arrogant legions in Shaughnessy and Point Grey to vote the straight party ticket. When you go to the polls on Saturday, please cast your votes for:

MAYOR:

Gregor Robertson (Vision Vancouver)

CITY COUNCIL:

David Cadman (COPE)

George Chow (Vision Vancouver)

Heather Deal (Vision Vancouver)

Kashmir Dhaliwal (Vision Vancouver)

Kerry Jang (Vision Vancouver)

Raymond Louie (Vision Vancouver)

Geoff Meggs (Vision Vancouver)

Andrea Reimer (Vision Vancouver)

Tim Stevenson (Vision Vancouver)

Ellen Woodsworth (COPE)

VANCOUVER SCHOOL BOARD:

Patti Bacchus (Vision Vancouver)

Bill Bargeman (COPE)

Al Blakey (COPE)

Jane Bouey (COPE)

Ken Clement (Vision Vancouver)

Sharon Gregson (Vision Vancouver)

Mike Lombardi (Vision Vancouver)

Alvin Singh (COPE)

Allan Wong (COPE)

VANCOUVER PARKS BOARD:

Constance Barnes (Vision Vancouver)

Sarah Blyth (Vision Vancouver)

Raj Hundal (Vision Vancouver)

Aaron Jasper (Vision Vancouver)

Stuart McKinnon (Vancouver Green Party)

Anita Romaniuk (COPE)

Loretta Woodcock (COPE)

Information about how and where to vote can be found at www.municipalelections.com After Saturday, let's start working on meaningful electoral reform to make Vancouver a real democracy.