Laments about New Year's Eve celebrations were bound to be negative regardless of what direction the City of Vancouver decided to move towards.

Happy New Year to everyone.  The site experienced some technical difficulties to start the year, but is now back and functional, with a site redesign in the works.

This story referred to in this letter made the rounds on several newscasts, blogs and publications around the city to end the year.  “Vancouver is a no-fun city…Vancouver isn’t world class…Vancouver is not capitalizing on the party spirit left over from the Olympics…City Hall has shown no leadership in getting people excited”…and on it went.

The fact of the matter is that it really didn’t matter what the City of Vancouver decided to do on New Year’s Eve…because it was inevitable that criticism would follow.

Let’s look at the alternative scenario, where tens of thousands of dollars (or more) were laid out for a big public event.  Now in spite of the fact that Vancouver seemed to grow up during the Olympics with regards to our public displays of celebration, I also think that New Year’s is a mixed bag, and that without the benefit of a big name headlining act, a public gathering would be hard pressed to attract even 5000 people.

If that had happened, the City would have been crucified for spending money on an event that a) we can’t afford due to the budget process we just went through b) didn’t have nearly enough people show up to and c) would have been classified as a way for the current Vision administration to buy people’s votes.

Yes, I am absolutely speculating on the storylines that might have played out, but I am also getting a sense that this coming election year will be an 11 month opportunity (up until the next election) for the local media, commentators and political opponents to heave criticism and scorn onto Gregor Robertson et. al, regardless of what they do.

The latest example of this previous to the manufactured stories about Vancouver’s New Year’s Eve celebrations was the latest post about poor little Stuart Mackinnon by the Georgia Straight’s Charlie Smith.

Anyone who has watch Mackinnon in action knows that he is a passive aggressive character that espouses an air of superiority, particularly when it comes to his fellow Park Board colleagues.

The fact that Mackinnon was cooperating with Ian Robertson when it is clear that their ideology about parks and recreation around the city are completely different on so many major issues has never been questioned as it should be – namely that it is a partnership borne out of political convenience rather than conviction.

But once again, the slant is that the Vision Vancouver Commissioners are trying to intimidate and bully the poor, defenseless Green party representative who has a passion for the work and a heart of gold about his intentions.

Excuse me while I gag.

These kinds of stories seem like a precursor to what is about to come over the next year.  Vision Vancouver began as a juggernaut, and has had a relatively successful couple of years in office.  The local media don’t seem to like that – Sam Sullivan was an easy whipping boy for them, but Robertson isn’t in the same category, further angering a group of journalists that feeds off of false controversy and manufactured outrage.

Has the Vision administration been perfect in its strategies with regards to the media and some of its initiatives?  Far from it.  There are number of political decisions and subsequent actions for which they have had to pay for.

But to have a group of reporters that seem hell bent on finding those chinks in the armour of Robertson and his team seems completely out of line.

A new slate has been established for many in this year of 2011…maybe the the powers that be within the local media should wipe each of theirs clean and take a different approach in their coverage of the civic political scene in Vancouver.

Last week I took a much needed break – partially as I mentioned because of a computer melt down, and partially because of a fatigue of pontificating.  I promised a return this past weekend, but that also didn’t happen because of my enjoyment of the malaise, some amazing weather, and a full slate of great football games.

But now, armed with a sleek and sexy new laptop, I am back.

• Mike Howell’s piece about lone NPA Councillor Suzanne Anton last Friday was very important in confirming what has become apparent: the NPA is desperate for attention, traction, and relevance.  I said it last week, and I will say it again: to attempt to draw Gregor Robertson into responsibility for the terrible gang shooting that happened on Oak Street is about the lowest form of politics one can engage in.  This is particularly emphasized when examining the NPA record of funding police officers, which Howell took a look at, or when considering the $200,000 that the VPD just received in the budget for anti-gang measures, also as pointed out by Howell.  This kind of tactic is in the same vein as Ian Robertson’s complaints about Park Board procedure with regards to the budget, even though he didn’t even bother to show up to speak to Council about the process after signing up as a speaker, and also abstained from voting on the budget altogether.  Empty political rhetoric with little in terms of a political record or current actions to back it up.  Typical NPA.

• Charlie Smith is back with his conspiracy theories.  The entire Park Board budget vote was delayed to allow for public input and further negotiations with City Council, so for anyone to suggest that the process was done in isolation is a complete falsehood.  Furthermore, if Charlie took a look at the conduct of Park Board Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon during meetings, he would realize that there is an attitude that is espoused in the form of belligerence, bullying and condescending remarks and tone.  Stuart is not prepared to work together with anyone unless he can get some cheap political points or attention out of it.  Forget about political deals – this is a stream of behaviour that Mackinnon clings to partially because of his arrogance, partially because of his longing for the spotlight, and partially because of his fear of not getting elected once again.  Go ask any of the Commissioners aside from Mackinnon’s best friend Ian Robertson about his conduct, and you will hear about how he creates conflict and looks to exploit the ensuing drama simply for his own political benefit, not the good of the public.  On this issue, Smith clearly hasn’t done enough research about the claims made by both Raj Hundal and Sarah Blyth.

• The NDP has set its rules and date to choose the party’s next leader, and the group of undeclared candidates are scrambling to sign up members before the cutoff date of January 16.  It is amazing that no one has announced quite yet, although Mike Farnworth and Adrian Dix are clearly the front-runners at this point.  I think that the problem with what has been laid out lies solely with the party’s requirement to be a member for 90 in order to be able to vote.  I think that an April 17 convention date allows the eventual BC Liberal leader to call a snap election and put the party in great peril.  That being said, the NDP is very religious about their rules and procedures, so this is no surprise.  The next few weeks are going to be a frantic race of membership signing between the potential candidates, and it looks as though these new members could be the deciding factor in consideration of the 13,000 that are already on the list, which represents an historic low for the party.

• Is the BC Rail stuff sticking to Christy Clark?  Hard to say.  In one sense, she is clearly the most popular with the public, and still most likely represents the best shot for the BC Liberals to maintain power.  On the other hand, she lacks caucus support, and has the chattering classes of the party talking about how her victory could truly open up a Pandora’s Box with regards to the trial that fellow candidate Mike De Jong thought he had squashed through a $6 million deal.  I don’t think that the story is salient enough with the media and/or the general public to become the thing that tanks Clark’s candidacy.  Yet, she has a long way to go before she is able to test out that teflon quality with British Columbians…she has to win over her own members first.

• Innovation towards business development at City Hall continues under the watch of Gregor Robertson, and this is yet another sign to the business community that this Mayor and Council are ready to serve as partners in prosperity rather than a burden of red tape and the status quo.  The City of Vancouver has always had some of the best city planning in the world, and finally this same kind of planning and infrastructure is being laid down for a thriving economic climate.

• Sorry, even for people who are used to big stars and big productions coming through town, this is very exciting news!  I am totally marking out, regardless of who they choose to fill the role, as Brandon Routh is most definitely not coming back.

• The rest of the world is catching up to Canada’s passion.  It is time that the City of Vancouver steps up to the plate to make Vancouver an annual destination on the UFC calendar.  Because as things stand right now, UFC will be unlikely to return in 2011.  What a terrible shame.

Alright people.  Have a fantastic day, drive safe, have patience in the shopping lineups, and show some good will towards others.

• I am happy that the federal funding for the Komagata Maru memorial has been received, and that the Khalsa Diwan Society and the Vancouver Park Board are working together on selecting a location.  But with all due respect to Mr. Mohinder Gill, the federal government has never offered an official apology for the incident, and there are huge swaths of the Sikh community that continue to push for such an acknowledgment in the House of Commons.  This monument is a step in the right direction, but it is far from an apology.

• Guess who is announcing their intentions to run in the NDP leadership race this morning?  All I am going to say is that this individual doesn’t have a penchant for yellow scarves.

• It is absolutely hilarious how Daniel Fontaine, the former Chief of Staff to Sam Sullivan, tries to distance himself from the “the previous NPA administration” which “pulled back on major reforms that could have resulted in more meaningful citizen engagement.”  In fact, I had a conversation with a prominent local reporter the other day which stated how citizen engagement and City Hall’s bureaucracy were annoyances for him.  Daniel may try and blame the NPA for these actions, but he and his former boss must step up to the plate and take responsibility for a policy which allowed them to ram through policies like EcoDensity down the throats of communities.  Fontaine’s attack on Kerry Jang’s comments are also a stretch, as nowhere does the Councillor come close to diminishing the role of community engagement.  A nice attempt at deflection from the former orchestrator of Sullivan’s Mayor’s office, but one that falls completely flat.  Oh, and there are some classy comments on this post from the City Caucus blog squad that seem to give a pretty interesting window into the NPA’s views on race relations in this city and country.

• My early morning drive to Surrey yesterday was newsworthy, first as I was diverted blocks from my house as a result of Sunday morning’s terrible mass shooting, and then as I drove over the sink hole before it collapsed and was just a huge dip in the middle of the road – and at the time, I had no idea of that either was about to hit the news.  The gang violence is very, very scary and so callous – particularly in such a quiet neighbourhood such as this.  However, to try and and link Gregor Robertson to this incident is quite possibly the cheapest and lowest form of local politics I have witnessed in many, many years.  Absolutely disgusting, and once again to no one’s surprise, originating from City Caucus.

• I hear through the grapevine that the Vision Vancouver Park Board’s recent lobbying of City Council for additional funding is looking optimistic – I am aware that talks are ongoing.  It will be interesting to see if there is anything to report at tonight’s Park Board meeting.  But in the end do I think that public bathrooms are going to be shut down around the city?  I highly doubt it.

• A different tone?  Maybe for now.  But the fact of the matter is that cutbacks are still going to have to come due to the Province overloading School Boards with ridiculous costs, yet not adequately funding them.  Schools might not be closing yet, but programs and staff will have to be reduced.  When those final decisions are released, I would say that the war will continue.  And rest assured, even if no other Board in the province has the guts to face off against the provincial government, Vancouver Chair Patti Bacchus is not going to stay silent and let Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid get a free pass with regards to her hard line approach to the relationship between school boards and her government.

• Here’s the latest scuttlebutt from the provincial leadership races.  Adrian Dix continues to mull over a run, although there are many voices that are trying to prevent that from happening because Dix would most likely be a polarizing figure for the public (I am still not entirely sure why, as I think the guy is very charming and publicly palatable…but then again, I am not a member of the party).  The Christy Clark and Kevin Falcon camps are really targeting each other in their messaging to potential membership sign-ups, and as a result, I am hearing more and more that George Abbott is going to be the second choice for both camps due to the bad blood that is developing between the former talk show host and the former health Minister.  And Mike Farnworth?  Slowly but surely becoming the consensus candidate within the NDP, particularly because he plays very well with the general public.

Alright folks, that’s all for now.  Stay safe.

Tim Louis has his facts wrong on the accomplishments made by the current City Council on social housing.

Yesterday, former COPE Councillor Tim Louis wrote an op-ed on City Caucus claiming that the Vision Vancouver led Council has been responsible for no new social housing.

But here are the real facts that Tim failed to mention:

Under the NPA, the city signed a 2007 Memorandum of Understanding with the Province to open 14 sites of social housing.

At the time it was hailed as a landmark agreement, and on paper, it absolutely was.  It was very positive.

Except for one thing…there was absolutely no money attached to the commitment.

Fast forward to 2008, and no construction had started.  Why?  Because as Mayor, Sam Sullivan was unable to secure anything but lip service, and as a result, no provincial money had been set aside.  The social housing sites sat empty.

It wasn’t until March of 2009 that Gregor and Vision got the BC Liberals committed to funding the first six social housing sites in Vancouver, and subsequently in April of 2010, they committed funding to the rest, for a total of $333 million in new money.

MOU’s are great.  They signal inter-governmental cooperation – well, on paper at least.  Just take a look at the Evergreen Line MOU, which sat idle for many years without any commitments for tangible money, and you will see that the road to hell is always paved with the best of intentions.

It takes political will, negotiating, and a strong working relationship to make things actually take shape – something that Sam and his Chief of Staff Daniel Fontaine never seemed to grasp.  Truth be told, there are many within the Vision caucus that were open to a Rich Coleman leadership run because of all the progress he has been able to make with the City of Vancouver on social housing during this Vision Vancouver term.

So Tim Louis’ spin on no new social housing under Gregor Robertson is a sly trick and some great politics, but it really doesn’t reflect the reality of what has actually happened over the past two years in contrast to the previous three to Vision coming to power.