March 9, 2010 - 9:06 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
COPE and Vision Vancouver sang and danced together in 2008, but will their tryst continue in the 2011 electoral campaign?
The recent utterings of hypocrisy by Councillor Ellen Woodsworth and Councillor David Cadman have got me thinking about the electoral cooperation that COPE and Vision Vancouver successfully exercised in the 2008 civic election.
(On a side note, I will be very interested to see how many events Councillor Woodsworth actually attended during the Olympics, as the rumour is that she was frantically asking for tickets to any event she could possibly insert herself into – regardless of comments by her colleague Councillor Cadman about said tickets being “a perk of position.”)
The deal between COPE and Vision currently remains in limbo, as both sides seem to be content to let things be ironed out at the last minute, as was the case in 2008.
Here are the strategic considerations for both sides to consider in a conversation that would be wise to have sooner rather than later.
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March 2, 2010 - 12:48 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Robertson's looking for another kind of handshake like this (minus the Conservative propaganda), but is unlikely to walk away with anything of substance from Harper this time around.
I have been delinquent during the Games, as unlike those who transformed themselves into “media”, I took some time away from the blog and municipal politics to enjoy the civic experience of a lifetime.
That being said, I am now back in the swing of things, and will be posting regularly from this point forward. CivicScene will also have some featured pieces coming out in one of Vancouver’s preeminent news outlets in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
Mayor Gregor Robertson has left himself little time to rest in between the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as he has made his trek eastward to Ottawa and Toronto in search of “a commitment to a national housing strategy” and more provincial and federal funding for transit.
Yet on the heels of Premier Gordon Campbell’s government preparing people for today’s budget which will dramatically “cut back on the operating budgets of government” as well as Prime Minister Stephen Harper prefacing his upcoming budget by calling it the “toughest of his career,” I can’t see the Vancouver Mayor walking away with anything at all in terms of financial commitments.
But the trip is significant for the way in which Robertson is graduating from his roles and responsibilities that are most often bound within the confines of Vancouver’s official boundaries.
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February 23, 2010 - 12:14 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Colbert brutalized Ujjal...and they both loved it.
Ujjal plays the straight man well and Colbert is excellent as usual. Although, the Himalayas most definitely extend into India, so I am not sure what he was talking about. I also liked the fact that Colbert was able to pronounce his name much better than many Canadian commentators, who regularly brutalize the delivery.
The second funny piece of the day comes from…OK, wait for it…the Georgia Straight’s Charlie Smith. What a surprise.
Smith takes issue with the fact that the City of Vancouver website has a portion of it devoted to…again, wait for it…the Mayor.
Oh the horror.
And get this…he has a video promoting Vancouver as a Green Capital to the world.
I know…a disgrace of epic proportions.
I mean, it’s not like other cities have profiles of their Mayor on their websites.
That would be ridiculous.
Great reporting, as per usual Charlie. Keep up the tough investigative journalism.
February 19, 2010 - 11:09 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
