In a strange political version of the popular
"Where's Waldo?" cartoons, Non-Partisan Association candidates have overwhelming run personal campaign ads that fail to even mention their own mayoral nominee - Peter Ladner.
Top prize for dissing the leader goes to Korina Houghton - who bought a full page ad in today's 24 hours newspaper but couldn't find room for a single mention of Ladner, nor in her Province ad.
New NPA council candidate Dajit Sidhu also has an ad in 24 hours with lots on his background and ideas - but no idea who the NPA mayoral candidate is. Nor do his radio ads mention Ladner.
Then there's NPA councilor Suzanne Anton - running lots of ads on CKNW radio AM 980 but none mention Ladner.
Elizabeth Ball is another NPA councilor whose Vancouver Courier ads have no reference to Ladner.
NPA councilor Kim Capri has no reference to Ladner on the home page of her own website.
NPA school board nominee Heather Holden and NPA trustee Ken Denike don't mention Ladner in their ads either.
But give credit to the NPA's Michael Geller - who knows that you run as a team and features Peter Ladner's name prominently in his own ads.
It has to be asked whether the overthrow of NPA Mayor Sam Sullivan by Ladner in a divisive nomination battle has left its scars still.
All incumbent NPA councilors and most NPA school trustees and park board commissioners supported Sullivan's losing campaign. Is there some payback aimed at Peter?
But even NPA Park Board chair Ian Robertson is running ads without Ladner, as is NPA Park Board commissioner Marty Zlotnick - no friend of Sullivan.
Overall one gets the impression the NPA campaign is a well-heeled but hardly well-oiled machine when prominent candidates can't be bothered to even mention the guy who would be their mayor if elected.
By the way, Vision Vancouver candidate Geoff Meggs has radio ads promoting his candidacy and other candidates have print ads - they all mention mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson.
4 comments:
And....the politician that Peter Ladner most admires, is none other than Millennium's good buddy, Gordon Campbell.
Let me say this again. Mr. "open and transparent" himself - Gordon Campbell is Peter ladner's role model.
We need to take away their keys.
Looks like a lot of NPA folks don't want to associate themselves with the guy. Maybe they figure Vision is going to win big and maybe, just maybe one or two of the NPA folks might manage a win.
They arn't just non partisan, (which is a misnomer if there ever was one)but leaderless for sure.
Go Gregor and clean house, but you really need a majority to sort things out. Hopefully yoour group will get the majority
The other thing that is kind of strange is that NPA candidates don't all have a consistent background to their signs, from what I saw as I drove across town today.
I wish Sam's cheerleaders had learned Politics 101, remain very diplomatic and maintain allegiance to the party, not the players, because those change. Some of them are about to find out that lesson the hard way.
In any event, as fun as it's been,it will be over tomorrow and we'll have a new bunch of folks in. Some will have been there before, some it will be there first time and everyone is starting with a fresh slate.
There has never been a more important time than to vote in a bunch of people who can collaborate, work together and put their petty partisanship aside and work in the best interests and needs of all of our citizens. Nothing less than that will do in these days.
The real game of hide & seek has been with the NPA's newbie school board candidates (LeGallais, Dr Singh, Holden, Woo & Nance). They've essentially been muzzled in the media and at the few events they've attended, they were seated in the audience and not allowed to speak.
Shades of McCain trying to duck Bush's record while keeping Palin on a tight leash?
Post a Comment