The Coroner just arrived at NPA headquarters. She could find no pulse! The death certificate will be issued any day.
On April 21 three of the four remaining NPA city councillors, Lisa Dominato, Colleen Hardwick, and Sarah Kirby-Yung left the NPA. Those of you who have been reading my blog over the last few months will know that I have been predicting this development for quite some time.
In the November 2018 Vancouver municipal election, the NPA elected five city councillors – just one short of a majority. They were well positioned to win a majority in the November 2022 election. All they had to do was provide effective and thoughtful opposition to the six-vote progressive majority. However, the cancer soon became apparent. Councillor Rebecca Bligh resigned from the NPA on December 6, 2019. She voiced grave concerns about what she termed the far-right turn of the newly elected NPA board, particularly the opposition of certain executive members to the BC Public Schools policy to create a learning environment that is inclusive of LGBTQ+ students, including transgender people. This was the first alarm.
The alt-right infiltration of the NPA board created further divisions. The NPA 2018 mayoral candidate, Ken Sim, left the NPA to help establish the brand-new A Better City municipal party. He has put his name forward to A Better City as a possible mayoral candidate. Then Mark Marissen announced his intention to run for mayor outside of the NPA. Current NPA mayoral candidate for 2022 John Coupar also continues to promote his candidacy as he responds to the departure of his three NPA former colleagues.
The departure of Lisa Dominato, Colleen Hardwick, and Sarah Kirby-Yung from the NPA reduces its presence on City Council to just one councillor – Melissa De Genova.
Politicians do not jump off a ship, even a sinking ship, without having decided where they wish to land. However, it’s anyone’s guess where these three former NPA city councillors will land.
Unsurprisingly, on April 23 all three NPA school trustees jumped ship as well, including Vancouver School Board chair Carmen Cho. With regard to NPA Park commissioners, there are only two – John Coupar and Tricia Barker. John Coupar has already been selected by the NPA board at a secret board meeting to be the 2022 NPA mayoral candidate. What will Tricia Barker do – stay on board a sinking ship or go with the four departed NPA City Councillors?
If you are a progressive, as am I, these devastating developments for the NPA were good news. The Green members of City Council, three in number; COPE’s single city councillor, Jean Swanson; One City’s single city councillor, Christine Boyle; and mayor Kennedy Stewart have gotten along well with each other. While these six members frequently vote differently, they respect each other. This bodes well for a progressive unity slate in the November 2022 election. I have no doubt that the Vancouver and District Labour Council will once again play an instrumental role at hammering out an agreement that results in a progressive unity slate.
RIP the NPA.
The press release from Lisa Dominato, Colleen Hardwick, and Sarah Kirby-Yung, as well as their open letter to the NPA, is posted on the websites of Lisa Dominato and Colleen Hardwick.
Correction notice: In a previous iteration of this post, I speculated about how the former NPA city councillors might align themselves moving forward. On reflection, I think I will save my predictions for a future date.
Daily atmospheric CO2 [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]
Latest daily total (Apr. 23, 2021): 418.78 ppm
One year ago (Apr. 23, 2020): 415.62 ppm
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