November 26, 2010 - 12:34 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
These wo former competitors have since formed a strong working relationship within City Hall, giving Vision peace within the caucus.
The landscape of BC politics right now is like nothing that observers have ever experienced before. A Premier has just stepped down, and his party is now at the beginning stages of what should be a hotly contested leadership contest. The stakes of this race are huge, as the winner becomes the new leader of the province, and the one tasked with pulling the BC Liberals out of the toilet.
Far be it for the ridiculous New Democratic Party to take an advantage of such a situation, as they are embroiled in a partial caucus revolt against their own leader. The dissidents are determined to push the envelope until Carole James walks out the door, which might happen soon with a leadership review likely coming in the new year.
If we turn our attention to the municipal scene in Vancouver, even the NPA continues to struggle with factions within their party, even as they try to rebuild the organization back into a competitive force for next year’s election. The recent party fundraiser saw Park Board Commissioner Ian Robertson and his silent supporters draw a line in the sand between them and the Sam Sullivan loyalists, while delivering a speech that showed he was most definitely going to take a shot at being the party’s Mayoral candidate. Meanwhile, Councillor Suzann Anton continues to cling to the Sullivan faithful for her base of support, making a showdown between the two an inevitability, and rehashing of all the nastiness that ensued between the Peter Ladner and Sullivan forces back in 2008. This is of course just the latest episode in a party that for many years has cannibalized its own in the name of personal politics of ambition.
Which brings me to Vision Vancouver. For a party that continues to grow as a coalition of progressive forces, the caucus has been one of the most peaceful that Vancouver’s civic political scene has seen in several terms.
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November 24, 2010 - 8:26 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Bill McCreery sits in the background, looking very unhappy at having to sit and be a greeter at the NPA table. His former party TEAM never made a man of his stature do such things I am sure.
Over the weekend, there was a very telling quote delivered by newly acclaimed NPA City Council candidate Bill McCreery, who is leading the charge for what is “new” within the 73 year old political entity (Bill received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1969 and was a Commissioner on the Vancouver Park Board from 1973-74, and thus has witnessed first-hand the NPA evolve into the young, fresh and dynamic organization it is today).
Mike Howell from the Courier asked McCreery if he was concerned the fact that there was only one race at the nomination meeting this past Saturday. Here was his response:
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November 22, 2010 - 12:54 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
November 3, 2010 - 10:18 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
The city of glass is still difficult to navigate for many renters who wish to work and live in the city.
“More than half of Vancouver residents rent, but rental only buildings account for just six per cent of stock.”
That is the quote that sticks out from this news item, which while a little late, is a good step forward towards making Vision Vancouver’s promise of using tax incentives to promote the development of new rental units a reality.
Having experiencing first hand what it is like to seek out rental possibilities within the City of Vancouver, I can most definitely say that the stock of adequate and affordable options is limited, to say the least.
The program is bigger than the tunnel-vision interests of any specific neighbourhood, making this policy one that is beneficial to the entire city – which, by the way, encompasses 131,000 households that rent, representing 52 per cent of the total.
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