January 11, 2010 - 1:05 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
It is unlikely that the Premier will be able to bask in the afterglow of the Olympics.
This article by the Globe and Mail’s local stalwart Ian Bailey is interesting for the possibilities it outlines for Mayor Gregor Robertson, but far more intriguing for analysis of how the Olympics are unlikely to add life to the career of Premier Gordon Campbell.
This could be the beginning of a political arc upwards for Robertson. Now while I would argue that for the purposes of re-election the Mayor’s profile is more than adequate, I can also see the global media propelling Robertson to a new status within his own city, province and country. We are all familiar with the typical Canadian syndrome – paying more attention to home grown talent only after the rest of the world notices them.
But with Campbell, I foresee a far different scenario – one that ends prematurely for a man who just claimed that “he isn’t planning on quitting politics after the Olympics.”
Read the rest of this entry »
September 14, 2009 - 10:02 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Surrey Mayor Diane Watts is a populist, a shrewd political reader of the public mood, and a figure that appeals to a nice cross section of the political spectrum.
Watts' aspirations may lie beyond the borders of Surrey, but a kick at the BC Liberal can after Gordon Campbell would be a quick descent to an early political burial
Her steady performance on Council from 1996 until 2005 was nearly flawless.
Her timing in knocking off former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum as an independent was impeccable.
And her move to create the Surrey First slate of “non-affiliated” candidates to take control of council (she beat her opponent by an astounding 43,000 votes, and all six of her running mates won handily) was a stroke of brilliance.
Which makes all of this recent talk of Watts’ eventual run for Premier a non-starter based on her record of success. Read the rest of this entry »
September 1, 2009 - 1:08 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
I had the chance to talk to Finance Minister Colin Hansen last Friday on a sad affair that brought hundreds of us together to remember an amazing friend who passed on far too early. I of course asked him about the shoes he was planning on wearing for today’s budget, to which he calmly pointed down to the unassuming if unspectacular pair he had on, telling me that they were the oldest and most comfortable dress shoes he owned. Imagine something similar to this:
A mock-up of the Finance Minister’s budget shoes, which reportedly keeps one of his ailing toes “comfortable”
but a little more rounded, and a lot less shiny and new looking.
With regards to the budget that Mr. Hansen is set to deliver this afternoon, characteristics such as unassuming, unspectacular and comfortable would all be a welcome outcome one would assume, particularly for municipalities that hang in the balance over the $1.9 billion in cuts to “discretionary spending” that Hansen and his officials have been planning since February. Read the rest of this entry »
