Bill Tieleman's picks that click for BC municipal elections on Saturday November 19, 2011

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Bill Tieleman

It will come as no surprise to any of my regular readers that I am endorsing the Vision Vancouver and Coalition of Progressive Electors team in the Vancouver municipal election.

I have been a Vision/COPE supporter for a long time and unlike some bloggers and commentators who through a few token candidates into their recommendations - usually because of internal and personal politics - not policy disagreements - I will not.

I can't consider voting for a city council candidate like the Green Party's Adrianne Carr, who hasn't attended a single Vancouver council meeting till this campaign started and only moved here in the past few years from the Sunshine Coast, where she lost several provincial and other elections.

If you want to be a city councilor, not doing the time is a crime.  Adrianne is pleasant enough in person but just like Christy Clark trying to run for Vanouver's NPA mayoralty nomination in 2005 when she didn't live here, it doesn't sit right.

Carr's failure to understand Vancouver was abundantly clear when she - a Green Party candidate - actually suggested she would favour "some bike-free routes" in an opinion piece in the Georgia Straight.  When readers rebelled, Carr reversed herself.  
No wonder the Straight's Charlie Smith had asked: "Is Adriane Carr the best the Greens can offer up for Vancouver city council?" Enough said.

With Suzanne Anton the Non-Partisan Association is running its weakest mayoral candidate since the Jack Volrich years, with a collection of no-name council candidates. One of them - Bill McCreery - actually lives in Richmond and can't even vote for himself.  Another - Jason Lamarche - has been a continual embarrassment, making national news with his online system for rating women he dated, including how they performed in bed.

And there are other NPA candidates whose names I've never heard of before - and hope not to after the election.  City Caucus co-founder Mike Klassen is a known name but that NPA cheerleading blog has been so repeatedly nasty that I can't imagine rewarding them with a vote.

The newly-formed Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver is running former Vision Vancouver member Randy Helten for mayor and four council candidates, some with COPE backgrounds, but will only act as spoilers in this election.  [Why is it that so many Vancouver folks get mad at their party and go start their own rather than try to change it?]

So here are the candidates I'll be voting for on Saturday November 19th in alphabetical order and with party indicated - followed by some out of town candidates people in their area should consider:

VANCOUVER:

MAYOR - Gregor Robertson - Vision Vancouver

COUNCIL

1. RJ Aquino - COPE
2. Heather Deal - Vision Vancouver
3. Kerry Jang - Vision Vancouver
4. Raymond Louie - Vision Vancouver
5. Tim Louis - COPE
6. Geoff Meggs - Vision Vancouver
7. Andrea Reimer - Vision Vancouver
8. Tim Stevenson - Vision Vancouver
9. Tony Tang - Vision Vancouver
10. Ellen Woodsworth - COPE

Vancouver Board of Education [School Board]

1. Patti Bacchus - Vision Vancouver

2. Al Blakey - COPE

3. Jane Bouey - COPE


4. Ken Clement 
- Vision Vancouver
5. Gwen Giesbrecht - COPE
6. Mike Lombardi 
- Vision Vancouver
7. Cherie Payne 
- Vision Vancouver
8. Allan Wong - COPE

9. Rob Wynen - Vision Vancouver

Vancouver Park Board

1. Constance Barnes - Vision Vancouver
2. Sarah Blyth - Vision Vancouver
3. Donalda Greenwell-Baker - COPE
4. Brent Granby - COPE
5. Aaron Jasper - Vision Vancouver
6. Trevor Loke  - Vision Vancouver
7. Niki Sharma - Vision Vancouver

In other Metro Vancouver cities there are a couple of other ways you can figure out who to vote for municipally if you are a progressive/labour oriented voters.

First - check the Vancouver and District Labour Council list of endorsed candidates for Vancouver, North Vancouver City and District and Richmond.

And see the New Westminster and District Labour Council list of endorsed candidates for Burnaby, Surrey, Delta, Maple Ridge, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Langley City, Port Moody and New Westminster.


Second - the Canadian Auto Workers Local 111, representing Metro Vancouver bus drivers have set up a campaign website called More Buses Now.  They asked mayoralty candidates whether they support above inflation increases in TransLink funding to improve bus service and expand rapid transit.  Those answers are also helpful.


Lastly, here are some out of Metro Vancouver municipal candidates that I know and have worked with on various issues - from the Fight HST campaign against the Harmonized Sales Tax to labour campaigns and more.  


You can check information at their linked website, as I don't know the local issues or necessarily all these candidates' positions.  Nor is this meant to say that other candidates not listed aren't fine considerations too.


But in my experience, these are good people.


Nanaimo - Darcy Olsen for city council - has both labour and business support.

Kamloops - Chad Moats for city council - a Fight HST activist.

Maple Ridge - Corisa Bell - for city council - Fight HST board member who can boast Bill Vander Zalm's endorsement!

Victoria - Michael McEvoy - for school board - currently President of the BC School Trustees Association and veteran trustee.

Surrey - Stephanie Ryan - for city council - would be a good new opposition addition with SCC veteran councilor Bob Bose.

Lastly - I welcome other candidates to contact me if they want to be added to this list or to just post a comment with their info.

But whoever you favour, please get out and vote!  With turnout as low as 30% in local elections we need to respect our democratic rights - people in Syria are dying now for that right - surely we can spend a few minutes to vote!

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