May 17, 2010 - 11:14 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross

Gregor Robertson's critics are feeling the pain of watching the most popular Mayor in Vancouver history continue to gain momentum - in spite of their best efforts.
It is no surprise that this article over the weekend would cause the usual suspects to writhe in agony.
And it is also no surprise that those very critics would immediately follow up with a post attempting to discount the accuracy of the data and lamenting the fact that the media also likes the Mayor – a lot.
And while it may be a grim day for supporters of the heir apparent to Philip Owen-Sam Sullivan-Peter Ladner, Suzanne Anton (hmmm…maybe that isnt’ the kind of lineage she would necessarily want to promote in public), it is a strong endorsement for the current administration’s direction.
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January 22, 2010 - 11:41 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross

Some former NPA affiliated staffers are running extremely low in the memory department.
So, a Freedom of Information request filed by City Caucus’ Daniel Fontaine has discovered that the Property Endowment Fund (PEF) board did not meet during the calendar year of 2009.
Without the time nor the inclination to find out the frequency of meetings in previous council years, however, the magic of the Internet has turned up some interesting facts about the reign over the PEF by former NPA Mayors/mayoral candidates.
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December 22, 2009 - 10:53 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross

This is the kind of public reaction that Vision Vancouver critics would have you believe the party is facing after the just-completed budget process. Nothing could be further from the truth, however.
What do you get with:
Well, you get the budget that the City of Vancouver just completed. And, all in all, you get a pretty reasonable process that took the needs of the collective into consideration above the loud voices of the minority.
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November 16, 2009 - 11:06 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross

Civic affairs were front and centre in an interesting and engaging forum hosted this past Saturday.
I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into the “Year In Review” forum hosted by previous NPA candidate Michael Geller, largely because I suspected an overwhelmingly NPA supportive crowd would be the only ones to show up.
And, for the most part, I was correct – former and current NPA board members, elected officials and supporters roamed the room, with few Vision or COPE supporters in tow. In fact, one of those former NPA elected officials tried to tell me that the morning remained civil and well-behaved because “the right-of-centre” had been behind the organizing, suggesting that had the “left” been at the helm, chaos and hostility would have ruled the day.
This is exactly the type of comment that I have come to expect from your typical NPA, Quadra-type of supporter. When confronted with the question, I told the individual that having grown up in Marpole/Kerrisdale, I knew first hand that civility was by no means exclusive to her end of the political spectrum.
That bit of nonsense aside, I found the morning to be a fantastic endeavour that could prove to be a model for civic engagement for all parties – assuming, of course, that the pool of interest is widened with future sessions.
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