As a former Director of VanCity Credit Union I am very pleased to endorse the Action Team candidates in the current election for three members of the Board of Directors for Canada's largest credit union.Allen Garr, Virginia Weiler and Heather Tremain will all do a great job in keeping up the innovative, progressive work of VanCity.
Allen is - of course - well known as the Vancouver Courier's civic affairs columnist, a longtime journalist with CBC TV and The Province newspaper and an old friend. But you may not know that he also has a background as an accountant as well as beekeeping!
Virginia is already a VanCity Director seeking re-election and a business consultant with wide experience both in BC and world-wide.
Heather is a consultant on urban sustainability and environmental issues in housing and construction and also co-chair of the VanCity Community Foundation
I'll let Allen, Virginia and Heather speak for themselves on their platform but I strongly urge you to support all three of them by voting either by mail until March 27 - ballots were sent out a short while ago by VanCity - or by voting at your VanCity branch, or any branch with your ID, from March 19 to March 27, 2010.
Here's the Action Team platform:
"Our platform is aimed at protecting the long-term vision of Vancity as an innovative, progressive community financial institution while addressing challenges that remain from the global economic crisis. If elected, we will:
- Freeze Fees
- Protect Community Investment
- Rebuild Trust
- Hassle-Free Lending"
Find out more at the Action Team website.
And sign online for their Freeze Fees petition.
.
37 comments:
Thanks Bill, we already voted for the three candidates you support.
Thanks Bill for your support!! - and readers please connect with us via Facebook (Vancity Action Team) or our website if you want to further discuss our platform or the 2010 Vancity board elections.
regards,
virginia weiler
Thanks Bill, now I not only know who NOT to vote for, I also know who to watch very closesly.
Mr. Tielman, how could you?
The Action Team has been the majority force at Vancity for several years now, during which time Vancity has been haemorrhaging members to other credit unions, most notably Coast Credit, but also even Prospera. Prospera???
These other credit unions offer better service at lower rates, and in response Action Team wants to freeze the current uncompetitive fees? This is dumb, dumb, dumb.
Action Team wants to 'rebuild trust'. Well, that trust was lost on their watch in the first place. Their culture of secrecy does not invite a renewal of our trust.
You're endorsing a trio of dullards here, Mr. Tieleman.
Bill
On another matter, when I went to Forbes.com I found out that Jack Mintz who is on the Board of Imperial Oil :
in 2008 earned $69 thousand in fees and $138,2000 in stock awards for $207,200
Last year he called for reduced royalties for the Alberta oil industry!
In 2008 he earned(?)$124,629 in stock awards as Director of the Brookfield Asset Management.
Brookfield Asset Management and Gordon Campbell's Liberal have quite the history, Laila Yuile had a blog post on them last year:
http://lailayuile.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/brookfield-asset-management-gordon-campbell-and-british-columbias-best-assets/
She mentioned it again when Brookfield came in with interest in saving Canwest:
http://lailayuile.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/brookfield-asset-management-gordon-campbell-and-the-canwest-lifeline/
Coast Capital is running a multi-million dollar television advertising campaign to attract members Wayne - and what's the hook? No fees!
Freezing fees at VanCity is a sensible position - and so is not spending members' money on TV advertising.
The Action Team majority has done an excellent job at VanCity over the past many years - that's why I want them to continue to do so.
I'm not sure what secrecy you are referring to.
Thank you for your response, Mr. Tieleman. We will probably not agree, but most important is that we are debating at the right moment: during an election campaign.
That option was not available to Vancity membership re. two important Vancity reports, the one on the position of co-ops within the economy and the report on the arts in Vancouver. Had they been released to the membership immediately upon their completion (and why not? They belong to us, the membership) they could have sparked strong and exciting debate a couple of elections prior to them being oozed out when they were. Depending on how the debates went, we might have been able to offer a rather different view of Vancouver for the world to see during the Olympics.
Or perhaps not. It would have depended on how the debates resolved. The point is they were released when it was too late for any such opportunity. Misplaced secrecy, and on Action Team's watch.
Next, your point about Vancity's response to Coast Capital seems eerily reminiscent of the response of the Detroit Big Three automakers when they first saw those funny cars coming in from Japan: 'Don't worry. We're too big for them. If we just ignore them they'll probably go away'.
Hmmm. How did that work out?
Re-Elect BOB WILLIAMS!!! Nice loyalty Bill.
In response to Anonymous 5:43 p.m. - I have a lot of respect for Bob Williams - I've worked with Bob in the past and know well of his record of service to the province and to VanCity.
But Bob is not part of the Action Team that I ran successfully with in 1998 and that I have always supported.
I wish Bob well but I am endorsing the Action Team candidates based on their platform, experience and skills.
Without Bob Williams, his leadership and foresight, there would have been no Action Slate. No Sacco Report. No Bologna co-ops connection. No paid maternity leave. And, very likely, no Vancity Enterprises, and no Central City in Surrey, among numerous other initiatives he has taken.
Without Bob Williams, there would have been no Action Slate for you to run with. Loyalty may not be your strong suit, Bill, but you could could try a little harder.
The current Action Slate, consisting of a celebrated beekeeper and two unknowns, is not as impressive as you may think. One of them admitted he has never attended even ONE of our AGMs. Not one. Some commitment.
Many of us are voting for Williams because that's where the ideas come from.
We need strong, fresh leadership at Vancity. Bill, I think you were right to endorse the action team. All three candidates seem excellent, but more importantly they have articulated a clear plan to make sure Vancity stays on its feet. Two of my biggest complaints as a vancity member are the high fees and the difficulty getting loans - I stick with vancity despite this because of its commitment to ethical banking. The Action Team are the only candidates who seem serious about addressing these issues.
I also want to add that I am quite put off by the negative and condescending tone taken by the Williams supporters here. I would hope that we can all campaign for our credit union without belittling our opponents. I really think the irisk of being called an "unknown" and "unimpressive", rather than having the substantive points you are making debated on their merits, creates a huge barrier to involving new members in Vancity's governance.
Thanks Bill! I voted for the Action Team - their members have consistently done an excellent job on the board. They're also the only ones I've seen who have a sensible and principled plan!
Anonymous 10:57 makes less than perfect sense. He claims he wants new, fresh leadership to correct the ills at Vancity.
Fair enough. We have significant problems. The rising culture of secrecy is among them. Bleeding members to Coast Capital is another.
But here's 10:57's problem: who does he think has been running things for, lo, these many years? The Action Slate, that's who. Who has controlled the Board, but now needs new leadership and fresh ideas? Why, the very Action Slate he supports.
Can't have it both ways.
No one who wants REAL change can possibly support the Slate any more. They have become tired, controlling, and simply interested in perpetuating themselves.
How do we know this is true? 10:57 told us so.
He's looking for 'freshness' in the day old bread bin.
Mr. Tielman, you should review your support of the Action Team slate. The Action Team dominating the Vancity Board today is an unholy alliance between exhausted labour aristocracy (Action Team Board of Directors member Patrice Pratt, ex-BC Fed and ex-BCGEU), political hacks (Action Team Board of Directors member Jan O’Brien is current Provincial Secretary of the BC NDP---obviously not too busy with her day job) and new Howe Street money centered around privatizing water resources in BC (see Action Team Board of Directors member Ian Gill’s promotion of independent power producers and his pathetically transparent attempt to simultaneously swindle First Nations and hollow out ---subvert--publicly owned BC Hydro)
The climate of stringent secrecy surrounding the current Action Team led Vancity Board can be best estimated to mean that there must be financial skullduggery rattling around the now well protected inner sanctums. Otherwise why would the Action Team led Vancity Board need such stringent secrecy. Unfortunately, the voting members of Vancity will never know if any thing is amiss until well after the election. The Action Team majority is making strenuous efforts to deliberately keep relevant information away from voting members, just short of actually declaring their intention of doing so. The Vancity membership would be well advised to deny their vote to the three member Action Team slate. By denying their vote to the Action Team slate, members will be voting for more transparency and less secrecy.
Vote for Bob Williams!
I know the Action Team candidates and Board Members - I respect them and their abilities and I am endorsing them.
Anonymous - for someone who talks about "loyalty" to a former NDP cabinet minister - Bob Williams - but denounces a former NDP party president - Patrice Pratt - and the current NDP provincial secretary - Jan O'Brien - you have a pretty flexible definition.
I ran with the Action Team, I have supported Action in every election and that's what I'm doing this time - that's pretty consistent - perhaps even "loyal" - to my own beliefs.
Now it's up to VanCity members to democratically decide.
Bill makes the point, "Now it's up to VanCity members to democratically decide."
It's a good point but, like someone bunting instead of batting, you don't go far enough.
How exactly are Vancity members supposed to make an informed decision? The Action Slate continues to impose a cloak on the numbers, on the information, and on the problems.
The most crucial information will not be released until AFTER the voting has already taken place. This may mean nothing to the Action candidate who admits that he has NEVER attended an AGM. Not once in 30 years, btw. Impressive commitment to Vancity, don't you think?
For the rest of us, it means a good deal.
While we continue to lose members and market share, the sight of Action Slaters -- and their pals -- congratulating one another is just a bit grotesque.
We expected more of you, Bill.
I'm really not a big fan of the negative politics on display here. I am supporting the Action Team because I think they have the best plan and that the candidates will bring in a fresh perspective to the Vancity board. I voted for them, and I hope other people do too.
Anonymous 3:07 is deaf to democracy.
In a well-run public enterprise, robust debate is an emblem of good leadership. It's only 'negative' for those who don't like being challenged.
And 3:07 lacks all sense of irony. Consider. He supports the latest Action Slate candidates and their 'platform'. To quote them, and then to ask the obvious question:
Freeze Fees
====who raised the fees?
Protect Community Investment
====who endangered it?
Rebuild Trust
===who broke the trust of our members?
Hassle-Free Lending
===who caused the hassles?
In every case, the answer is clear. The Action Slate. They have held majority control for years. And now, 3:07 wants to re-elect them, although by his own admission they have 'broken trust' and 'raised fees'.
These guys try to have it both ways. Absurd.
Contrary to 3:07's wan plea, the Action Slate must be challenged for its poor management.
These three don't have a platform. They have a treadmill.
I didn't know who I was voting for in the election nor had I heard of the Action group. But with all the negative and very hateful comments by the people on Williams campaign, I have lost respect for him.
Bob, you used to be a guy that stood up for people and would never have let people make personal attacks.
I am not voting for you this time Bob, and I won't next time if you don't take leadership and tell your supporters that personal attacks are not acceptable.
Anonymous 10:11 makes a good joke. Well done! If there were a prize for Being Disingenuous, there would be only one nominee.
Now, back to policy.
The Action Three are campaigning on a 'platform' to "rebuild trust". Very good.
Here's the question that their supporters overlook, ignore, and plainly wish had not been asked: who broke that trust? The majority on the Board, or space aliens?
The Action Slate has held a majority for years. Nothing passes at the Board without their consent.
Nothing. Zero. Zip. So.... who broke trust with our members?
The folks in power, or the minority with no power?
Their defenders may not like the question, but the majority of us expect a competent reply. It speaks to the issue of competent management.
"Rebuild trust", you say. Tell us more.
The Action Slate, through its majority, has raised fees at Vancity.
The Action Three now pretend they want to "freeze fees", and are circulating a petition to that end. Or is it?
The Action majority could freeze fees by a vote at the Board they control. They don't need a petition. They could do it tomorrow. So, why do they want a petition?
Simple. It's a covert way to gather names and e-addresses. It's a way to turn those names into a permanent list for their permanent politics. Their phony petition has nothing to do with freezing fees.
It has everything to do with harvesting names. Doubt it?
Bill: please ask Action why they need a petition -- to do something they say they want to do anyway.
I just bought a shirt for Bob and his supporters
http://rlv.zcache.com/doesnt_play_well_with_others_tshirt-p235978238957589020tdh1_210.jpg
Anonymous 10:22 prefers t-shirt slogans. How nice. The rest of us prefer a more adult approach to policy.
So, for the grownups here, the question of Action policy remains unanswered.
Why do you need a petition in order to freeze fees? You already have the majority. Use it. Freeze them.
Unless, of course, your REAL purpose is to harvest names and build a permanent e-list. If that's what you're up to, why not declare it openly?
And while you're at it, why are you talking about a need to "re-build trust"? YOU are the majority, and have been for years. The only people with the power to 'break trust' is the Action Slate.
You are campaigning against yourself.
This is not as clever as you may imagine.
Yes Action, force a vote through, don't ask people what they want.
If you vote for Bob, we guarantee you that he will not ask for your opinion, but that he will implement the policy that he thinks is good for you.
Elections are not times to ask for your opinions or put forward any of our own ideas, but are times to point fingers.
Bob's strategy is brilliant.
1) Blame everybody else.
2) Take no responsibility for being on the board for the last 3 years and voting each time the same as everybody else.
3) Remind people of his amazing work and that the credit union has grown to over 400,000 members now.
4) But at the same time claim the credit union has lost member's to Coast Capital.
Vote for Bob, a man that has made the credit union amazing and thanks to Bob everything is good at Vancity except for the bad things that are the fault of everyone else.
Vote for Bob because in three years we will hear from him again telling us why everybody else is wrong and why we should vote for him again.
Anonymous 7:09 almost makes sense -- but not quite. The Action Slate is in the majority. As the natural governing party they are held to account for what they do with their majority.
ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN CAMPAIGN, they have 'broken trust', made lending a 'hassle', 'raised fees', and generally mucked up.
Now, like liberals everywhere, they hope to be returned by running against themselves. This is, of course, a joke. But many of us are not laughing, because the consequences of Action's mismanagement are so dire. Pay close attention at the AGM.
We get it that you just don't like Bob Williams. Fair enough. The old Socreds hated him too, and for the same self-serving reasons. A lot of reactionaries can't stand him either, in the same irrational ways they can't stand Mr Obama. Boo hoo.
If you want to see the policy options he's put out there -- numerous and detailed -- go to www.bobwilliams.ca. Then give him a call.
Action doesn't have a platform. It has a treadmill. And, through its phony petition, a sneaky way to harvest names and addresses for future campaigns.
If they really wanted to freeze fees, they wouldn't need a petition. Their motives lie elsewhere.
I am glad Action is running a petition asking people whether we want to Freeze Fees.
I am tired of this small group of Bob Williams supporters who think they have all the right answers for the rest of us. An election is the exact time that candidates should be asking for our opinions. Gordon Campbell said in the last election no HST and is now forcing it on us. The Action Team is asking people to sign a petition to find out what WE want. Unlike Gordon Campbell they don't just force it on us.
This small group of Bob supporters would blame the Action Team for world hunger if they could, and claim Bob has a report he wrote that will feed everybody.
I wonder if Bob even knows that you people are attacking everybody under his name? I know he isn't really an internet guy so I doubt it. If you really believe strongly in Bob, why don't you start telling people why Bob should get elected. What policy is he putting forward? Bob has been on the Board for 3 years, what did he do for three years? What policies did he vote against that Action supported?
I agree, thanks Action for asking us if we want to Freeze Fees - I just signed your petition, and I am happy if you put me your list.
Whats with these cynical people that don't believe in asking us what we want?
Bob, stop running a negative campaign!
I am not going to vote for you this election.
I just voted for all the Action candidates.
I supported Action in the past, but I made sure I voted this time especially because of all of Bob's negative campaigning.
And, yes, now I am going off to sign the petition - I too am glad you have a petition so we have a say if we want to Freeze Fees.
I lost my job last year and I am glad you are proposing to Freeze Fees - every little bit helps.
I encourage everybody to sign the petition if you support Freezing Fees.
Hey, where do I find this petition to Freeze Fees????
I am happy to sign that. My wife lost her job in November because of the recession and it would help us out.
Let me know where the petition is and I will sign it.
And the Academy Award for Being Disingenuous goes to... 11:49, or 8:45, or 8:40. Take your pick. They're likely all the same person, and never even considered voting for Bob anyway.
It's a bit like the old Liberal trick: "I've always voted Conservative, but your candidate has disappointed me..." No one believes a word of it, guys. Sorry.
Those who ARE interested in a point of view other than the self-perpetuating one offered by the Action Slate are respectfully asked to go to Bob William's website, www.bobwilliams.ca.
There you will find multiple policy papers, policy options and recommendations, podcasts, a record of his astonishing achievements as city planner, Alderman, MLA, Cabinet Minister, Deputy Minister for Crown Corporations, Chair of ICBC and -- remember? -- Chair of VanCity when we really started to move ahead. Perhaps you have forgotten this.
You will also see material about his role in doubling our provincial parks, saving Whistler, creating Robson Square and the ALR, building Central City in Surrey, the West Coast Express, working with the disabled, and with the arts --- and much more.
I support Bob because of his unparalleled record of achievement in British Columbia. He is a true, lifelong progressive.
Many support Bob because that's where the ideas come from. Read his website with half an open mind, and you'll soon know why.
We get it that you just don't like the guy. Big deal. The Socreds didn't either. Boo hoo.
I read over on Bob Williams' FaceBook page that he has just been endorsed by Norman Armour. I thought your readers might like to see what he had to say, and why.
As you are aware, Bill, Mr Armour has a very clear understanding of the arts in Vancouver.
"As a long time Vancity member, I have been extremely impressed with the leadership and experience that Bob Williams brings to the table.
"Time and time again, he has demonstrated a principled and balanced approach to the questions of our community's sustainability—economically, culturally and environmentally. Our region has just finished hosting a major international sporting and cultural event.
"There will undoubtably be numerous opportunities and challenges arising in the next three years. Now more than ever, we need people of vision and determination. I strongly urge anyone invested in the future of Vancity and our life here on West Coast to consider Bob Williams for re-election."
Norman Armour
Executive Director
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
Funny that Bob Williams's supporters keep having to come to Bill's blog to make their announcements!
And who else do THEY recommend voting for in the VancCity election other than Bob?
Surely not Doreen Bravermann - longtime Liberal and BC Finance Minister Colin Hansen's mother-in-law?
In reply to Anonymous 11:28, I think it is to Mr. Tieleman's credit that he allows opposing views on his blog. Don't you?
You might not know this, but Norman Armour is a VERY important figure in the arts community. His opinion holds a good deal of weight with many people.
Mr. Tieleman clearly knows it, and respectful credit to him for letting YOU know it. He plays fair.
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