I’ve been on the COPE executive on and off for some 30 years. But at our AGM in November I did not seek re-election to the executive board. At the same time, I announced I would not be running again for elected office, starting with the 2018 municipal election in Vancouver. I was first attracted…
Category: NPA
It’s no trick — campaign finance reform is here!
It is finally coming! Campaign finance reform will have a dramatic and, I believe, very positive impact on the 2018 municipal election. Our provincial NDP government has just announced that legislation is on its way which will ban union and corporate donations in municipal election campaigns — this just one month after they banned the…
My prediction: This won’t be the last we hear from Jean Swanson
The byelection results for the one seat open on Vancouver’s city council are in. As feared, the NPA candidate, Hector Bremner, won as a result of the progressive vote being split. To my disappointment, this means that my favourite city councillor, Adriane Carr, must continue without anyone on council to second her motions so…
Vancouverites, get out and vote!
Today, October 4, is the first of two advance voting days for the Vancouver by-election October 14 to elect one new council member and nine school board members. The second advance poll will be held October 10. Both advance polls are located at City Hall. Of course, regular voting day is Saturday, October 14 and…
The power of Green
Will it finally happen? An NDP minority with the Green Party holding the balance of power in BC? Last week the writ was dropped and the provincial election is, finally, formally underway. What makes this election possibly unique in our history is the fact that the NDP and the Liberals are in a statistical dead heat…
A tale of two school boards: One fiery, one fired
One of my fondest political memories is the night when results came in for the by-election of a brand new Vancouver School Board in 1986. Two years earlier, in 1984, COPE (Coalition of Progressive Electors) had won a bare majority on the school board, electing five of the nine trustees. They had campaigned very heavily…
Six Years Too Late
Today Mayor Gregor Robertson issued a vague apology during the CBC debate. We now know what we had been suspecting for a number of days now — Mayor Robertson sees the writing on the wall and is desperate to avoid defeat Nov. 15th. After six years of ignoring community concerns, three days before voters cast…