To Charlie Smith of the Georgia Straight, wards mean the dawn of a new political age in Vancouver.

Wards, wards, wards…if you are reading the Georgia Straight these days, Charlie Smith seems to have little interest in covering anything else these days.

God knows I have waded into this debate previously.  I was peripherally involved in the Wards campaign back in 2004 (here were my reasons at the time).  I then had some pretty edgy comments following last year’s municipal election, in consideration of the fact that I was the campaign manager to both Kashmir Dhaliwal and Raj Hundal, where while Hundal was elected (with a lower vote total than his fellow Vision candidates), Dhaliwal was the only Vision Council candidate not elected.  And now, I am not exactly sure where I stand, in consideration of some of the inter-ward battles and pedestrian politics that happen in cities that elect councillors in this fashion.

First of all, Smith’s obsession has disallowed proper coverage of City Council  passing a 10-year plan to become the worlds greenest city or debate over how to proceed on a a mental health and addictions plan.

Secondly, Charlie’s entire argument rests on questions of race.  He seems to indicate that South Vancouver, where the majority of the city’s South Asian populuation is concentrated, should have a representative of South Asian origin.

I find this kind of thinking extremely demeaning, to be honest.

I am half South Asian.  My wife is South Asian.  Many of my friends and contacts are South Asian.

But why is a South Asian candidate necessary for an area where South Asians only make up 13 per cent of the population (if you are basing it on the Vancouver South federal riding demographics)?

Smith argues about how the at-large system “benefits candidates with Chinese surnames and undermines the chances of candidates with South Asian names.” But if wards were to be created and South Vancouver ended up having a ward with similar boundaries to its federal counterpart, 45 per cent of the population would be Chinese.

Having worked with or for federal Minister Herb Dhaliwal, Solicitor General Kash Heed, former Attorney General Wally Oppal and Kashmir Dhaliwal, I am aware that South Asian representatives are more common in the area.  But the numbers alone do not support Charlie’s main thesis.

My point is that Wards are not the be all, end all of solving the ills of Vancouver’s electoral problems, race is a poor argument upon which to base support for the idea.

In fact, some Vancouver residents have elevated this type of attitude to the next level, coining a new term – NIABY (Not In Anyone’s Backyard) – and putting up an entire website devoted to showing opposition to “supportive housing initiatives and community treatments in mental health and addiction.”

Could packs of self-interested Vancouver residents cripple progress in the city with the introduction of wards?

So, in spite of my past support for the introduction of a wards electoral system in Vancouver, a conversation with a friend in town from Toronto yesterday has given me a different perspective, and filled my head with questions of whether this city in particular would benefit from such a change.

He told me a story of living on the border between two wards, and the gridlock that occurred with regards to the St. Clair streetcar extension, which required a widening of the street.  The battles between the two wards, and the “pedestrian politics” that ensued, caused construction to start, then stop, then begin again in a different formation because of residents and councillors battling with each other for over two years.  This Toronto Star column provides a glimpse into what they have to go through in Toronto to get anything done.

Now I am aware of the debate that has once again popped up regarding representation and whether the at-large system adequately gives minorities and all sections of the city an equal shot at getting elected.

Admittedly, I have echoed Raj Hundal’s sentiments in the past (also here), particularly after Kashmir Dhaliwal’s disheartening defeat, where he missed being a councillor by about 1,000 votes.  Some of the things I saw on the campaign trail really made me question the depth of support for the diversity that Vancouver is so often regarded for.

But in looking at the composition of Vancouver’s current City Council, Park Board and the School Board, elected officials  live across the city, due to the fact that the majority Vision Vancouver party does not draw its candidates and supporters from only one enclave as others have tended to do in the past.

What concerns me most are the parochial attitudes that tend to creep up in Vancouver specifically when the city is broken down into its neighbourhoods.  I don’t care whether its is South Vancouver residents complaining about being ignored by City Hall for so long (valid comments considering previous administrations), or Dunbar residents complaining about a mental health facility going up in their neighbourhood, everyone is inclined to take care of their own interests first.

Which, when looking at it from a sociological perspective, is perfectly normal.  I am just aware of how Vancouver is particularly bad at making issues an “Us vs. Them” type of battle on so many different instances and issues.

Could Wards give us better representation with one defined individual we could all turn to?  On some fronts, absolutely.  Might we get a more diverse group at City Hall that brings different and fresh perspectives directly from those who have had trouble being heard?  Without a doubt.  Could wards increase voter turnout because people feel they have more riding on electing a local representative?  One would suspect that it could be a real catalyst in inspiring people back to the municipal polls.

But it would not be all rosy, and as my understanding of this city has grown over the past five years, I have come to recognize the shortfalls of a system that would only tend to accentuate some of Vancouver’s more negative and divisive attitudes.