Councillor Suzanne Anton and I had a good chat during the Olympics.
During the Olympics, my wife and I were invited to a reception held at Vancouver House by the City of Vancouver for the South Asian community. The event was one of many conducted to honour the diverse communities of Vancouver, even if VANOC never considered them in their opening or closing ceremonies. It was a modest affair with juice and small appetizers served, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant and welcoming to everyone.
In spite of what some might assume, this was not a Vision Vancouver event by any stretch of the imagination. All councillors, several city staff, the Indian Consul General and even Shiva Keshavan, the Indian luger, and his family were in attendance.
Over the course of the event, I was approached by a non-Vision Vancouver Councillor to tell me that apparently lone NPA Councillor Suzanne Anton had an issue with my attendance because it made the event “too political.”
I happened to run into the Councillor at another venue that same day and decided to confront her about her issues.
Anton was quite surprised that I had heard about her comment, which was apparently made in confidence to a member of staff and then subsequently passed down the chain for the benefit of my ears.
I asked her about how my presence at the event had given her pause for concern.
I am not sure if I ever got a straight answer regarding that issue, but I did decipher that my commentaries about her and her policies and public record had severely ruffled some feathers.
She claimed that she no longer read this website, gave me permission to write whatever I wanted because “she doesn’t care,” and also told me that everything I write characterizes her as “evil.” She also claimed that I continued to go after her personally.
I took great issue with those final two utterances for the simple fact that everything I have written about Suzanne Anton has been about her role as an elected official. I told her that I have and never will comment about her as a person or her character, but that I would continue to voice my opinions about her public record.
I don’t like the NPA and what it stood for, and even in its decrepit state, what it continues to represent. I think that it became an elitist entity that never took the full range of considerations in Vancouver into account.
I also don’t think that Suzanne Anton has been a particularly strong voice for the whole, and take issue with several of her policy and political pron0uncements.
But these opinions in no way cross the line into Anton’s private life. I have the ultimate respect for politicians and the way in which they give up their personal lives for the greater good. I also hope to be in that position one day myself. So, delving into personal slights is certainly not my modus operandi. I encourage readers to type the name “Suzanne Anton” into the search function above to get a sampling of some of my previous viewpoints.
The two things I will take away from the encounter are as follows.
One, Anton gave me an interesting answer regarding her biggest problem with the current Mayor and Council: “the politicization of City Hall.” She thought that the public services should be left alone to make decisions that are without any type of political influence. Watch this website in the coming days to read a just completed column that voices a far different take on the bureaucracy at City Hall – it will be appearing in a major daily newspaper.
Secondly, Anton correctly pointed out that I have never once called her for comment on anything I have written, and that is true. It is also a mistake that I acknowledge and am willing to correct. So, Councillor Anton, please do expect some phone calls in the future to get your side of the story (although of course, you don’t read this website, so they will likely be received with great surprise when you do pick up the phone).
Until tomorrow, my dear readers.
