Lone NPA Councillor Suzanne Anton has really put on her thinking cap when it comes to devising new marketing strategies for the Olympic Village sales efforts.
I had a great chuckle this morning reading about Suzanne Anton’s marketing ideas on how to make the Olympic Village units more attractive to the public:
To which I have one question: are you serious Suzanne?
I have had some recent conversations with both NPA party members and members of Sam Sullivan’s previous administration, and without a doubt, the Olympic Village tends to be one of the preeminent sore points for those struggling with the current political landscape.
The reaction of most NPA/Sam Sullivan acolytes when discussing the Olympic Village.
This is for a number of reasons – the fact that revelations released by the leak of Peter Ladner’s in-camera document detailing a $100 million loan to Millennium sunk the NPA in the final weeks of the campaign, the fact that former City Manager Judy Rogers’ head rolled due in part to the way the project was managed, the fact that it is Vision Vancouver that has pulled things from the fire to launch what is sure to be a jewel for the city for decades to come – you take your pick.
I have seen the anger, the bitterness and the venom that emanates from these individuals when the Olympic Village is brought up – and I have now learned my lesson to avoid the topic altogether.
That being said, the inability to accept reality continues from some in that crew. Take for example lone NPA Councillor Suzanne Anton, who has penned an oped for the Vancouver Province today that unsurprisingly glosses over the key details that caused Mayor Gregor Robertson to refer to the Olympic Village as a “train wreck” when he inherited the project last December.
Let’s break down Anton’s piece and her version of events.
Sullivan's defense of his financial decisions are likely to be shredded by the auditors of KPMG.
I am still awaiting the KPMG report that will expose the complete incompetence, and some might say impropriety, of the previous NPA council with regards to the mismanagement of the Olympic Village.
In the mean time, however, I will direct readers to this smug editorial written by former Mayor Sam Sullivan in January, 2009. In it, he seems to argue that as a result of the Property Endowment Fund’s (PEF) enviable size, the Olympic Village and the manner in which taxpayers money was handled is not worthy of concern. If losses are attributed to the PEF instead of the annual operating budget, everything is fine, according to Sam.
After a midnight and beyond oil burning session, I am not going to detail the entire story of the Olympic Village and the troubles created by decisions made by the previous NPA dominated council. For that, you can check out a good account of the basics by Vancouver Courier columnist Mike Howell here.
Instead, today will mark the beginning of an ongoing series of questions that I will put out there for Suzanne Anton, who is the only individual left standing after the NPA’s November evisceration, to consider.
Snatched from Anton's website banner, the NPA logo has been conveniently placed on a white background for easy Photoshopping after the release of the KPMG report
Not that I expect to get any kind of substantial answers until the KPMG report is publicly released. Nonetheless, readers might also contemplate these queries and choose to ask them of Anton directly: Read the rest of this entry »
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“Perhaps it was my silk dress or the new perfume I’ve been wearing lately. When I asked Suzanne Anton what her New Year’s resolution was, she replied, “To kiss a pretty girl!” and pecked me on the cheek.” – Writer Emily Barca describing her encounter with the lone NPA City Councillor on New Year’s Eve.
