Another article on the sorry state of the NPA is not particuarlly newsworthy, because it has become the laziest and most obvious type of commentary within the Vancouver municipal political scene. No new ground broken in this one either, talking about how the party’s arrogance and internal battles of ego have led to a state of complete disarray.
This is a shot of the Joyce Walley room with more chairs that were set up for the NPA's AGM. No matter who is offering an opinion on attendance, it was low by all accounts.
The piece’s ending, however, is very telling about how far the party truly has to go:
“She also took issue with Michael Klassen, whose communications firm designed the NPA website. Following the AGM, Klassen told a local radio talk show host that only 40 people showed up for the meeting.
Not true, says Anton, who counted more than 50 AGM attendees. “And four or five people came in late because it was an early meeting.”
Quibbling about a description that is a mere ten people off of your own count – IN THE MEDIA no less – is quite possibly the most boneheaded decision anyone can make. This leads me to suspect that either Anton has lost interest in doing her part to rebuild the party (and is looking to move on to greener pastures and quite possibly a spot in a future federal cabinet) or she clearly is not cut out to be any kind of leader.
Regardless, talk about engaging communities, taking a more grassroots approach and increasing the membership are futile in comparison to the only thing that will count come next election.
